A/N: This update took longer than usual, I know. I blame myself though, I had written around 10k words and I'm pretty sure I saved it but after an annoying Windows update, my document went missing and I couldn't recover it. Along with rewriting the entire chapter, I also had many issues with my PC. Well anyway, here we go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter… only Vidar.

Chapter 5: A new life

Harry thanked every deity he knew for the tenth time that day for being lucky enough to find Vidar. Thanks to Vidar's directions, he managed to locate Gringotts and thus managing to avoid any awkward conversation with some random wizard for the purpose of asking directions. Vidar seemed to know a great deal about the general wizarding world since he spent several centuries observing and learning about it while he was with his family and searching for Harry.

Harry tuned out the short lecture that Vidar was giving him about the origin and function of Gringotts as well as the history of Goblins when Gringotts came into his vision.

Harry stood awestruck before a massive white building. It was primarily made of pearly white marble that reflected the afternoon sunlight, comprising the property of a mirror. The building had three storeys with black tinted windows. The pillars in the exterior of the building were made of solid white marble with streaks of golden lines running along the length of it. The few steps that led to the entrance of the bank appeared to be made of solid gold.

Harry was knocked out of his stupor by Vidar's annoyed voice in his mind. "Are you even listening to me, child?"

"Huh?" Harry replied.

"You are blocking the path, fool. Get moving before those two goblins remove you forcefully. Judging by their looks, I don't think we would have to wait long for that." It was then Harry noticed the two short figures standing on either side on the door. They were about four feet tall and had pale skin with a hint of greenish tinge. They had abnormally long fingers and feet. Their head was dome-shaped and had pointed ears and noses. Both goblins were accoutred in fancy-looking armour and were armed with a long spear each that was about twice their height.

When Harry noticed their glares, he hastily moved towards the door and apologised to the goblins with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that Misters."

Both goblins visibly did a double-take at Harry's apology. After overcoming their shock, the goblins gave him a small, feral grin which displayed their numerous pointed tooth. They nodded at him and motioned him towards the door.

Harry smiled at them and kept walking. "That was weird. Do they always act like that?"

"No. The wizards never acknowledge the goblins as their equal. The wars and rebellions I was explaining about were usually caused due to mistreatment of goblins by the wizards. Treaties were passed to avoid conflicts between the magical people and goblins and thus effectively separated the goblin and wizarding populace. There are rules that both have to follow though. Ever since the treaty was formed, goblins took over the banking business of the wizarding world under strict laws that prohibit them from robbing the wizards' wealth. The present day laws give goblins their freedom and Gringotts is totally under the control of goblins. Due to the goblins' proficiencies in dealing with money, they take care of the entire wealth of the wizarding world and in return, they profit spectacularly from the interest rates and the cut they get from managing the wealth and other financial businesses of witches and wizards."

"Though the goblins play a major role in the life of the magical community, they are usually treated like dirt beneath the shoe by wizards. Witches and wizards rarely respect the goblins. This results in the reciprocation of scornful behaviour by the goblins towards the wizards." Vidar explained.

"Well, that's just plain stupid." Harry stated.

Vidar chuckled lightly. "I was about to stop you from apologising like a fool, child. I expected them to laugh and humiliate you but I admit, I did not expect them to accept it."

Harry lost count at the number of times he was wonderstruck in the past twenty four hours. As he entered the bank, he was greeted by a massive hall lit in soft orange light. The walls of the bank were gilded with carvings that pictured the goblin history. The ceiling had a massive dome of glass that allowed limited sunlight to enter through it. There were two huge candle chandeliers on both sides of the dome with sparkling crystals hanging from them.

There were two long raised tables on either side of the hall which seated nearly a hundred goblins. Unlike the guards, they were dressed in formal attire and some had a monocle on their eye. They were busy weighing gold or scribbling away on huge books. On the rear end of the hall, there were two huge doors and more guards stationed near them.

"Go to one of the tellers and state your name and business. Make sure you speak boldly and don't talk unnecessarily." Vidar instructed.

Harry brought down his hood and walked up to the nearest teller and spoke with a clear and confident voice.

"Excuse me for interrupting sir. My name is Harry Potter and I am here in hopes of being notified about my inheritances an-"

Harry was rudely interrupted, however, when a rather large, well-built man bumped into him forcefully, making him move away from the teller he was addressing. The man was accompanied by a girl who was probably his daughter. The man, who was dressed in opulent robes, took Harry's previous place before the teller.

"Give me the archives containing the list of current heirs of pureblood families." The man demanded while looking at the teller goblin as though he was a piece of filth.

"What a bastard."

"What a bastard." Harry and Vidar said at the same time though Harry whispered while Vidar shouted in Harry's mind.

Harry was sure nobody had heard him but was proved wrong when the girl beside the man, who was closer to Harry, turned her head to face him. While the girl was probably the man's daughter, she looked nothing like him. The man had straight black hair which was neatly combed and his eyes were light green in colour. The girl, on the other hand, had long and straight dark blond hair that nearly reached her hip. Her eyes were icy blue. She had smooth and unblemished skin that was milky white in colour. Unlike her father, she had a lithe build. Judging from her height, Harry surmised that she was probably around his age. She was dressed in elegant green feminine robes that looked too formal for such a young girl. The only similarity between the girl and her father was the coldness in their eyes.

When the girl looked at him, Harry expected a glare from her but was surprised to see an impassive expression on her rather beautiful face. Her frosty eyes bore into his and he noticed that he couldn't make out any emotions in them. Harry usually prided himself of his ability to determine what people were feeling just from their eyes. This useful skill often warned him from what his uncle or cousin were going to do to him, whether ignore him or beat him up. Harry almost regretted seeing such an emotionless mien on her. He could only imagine what the girl would have gone through to reach such a detached state. It was uncharacteristic of a young girl to be so cold rather than being jubilant.

Harry was glad that the girl didn't mind his comment. He could almost swear he saw her pink lips twitch upwards at his comment but instead he presumed that it was just his mind playing tricks on him. 'I mean what kind of daughter would be pleased with her father being called a bastard by a stranger? None right? Right?' Harry mused.

The goblin teller, who was busy writing something in his book while this commotion took place didn't even look up at the man and continued with his work. The man was glaring murderously at the goblin. The teller leisurely finished writing and put down his quill as though he had all the time in the world. He then closed his book unhurriedly and turned towards Harry, all the while, not even looking at the direction of the man who was surprisingly showing impressive amounts of restraint, even though he looked as though he wanted to tear the goblin apart with his bare hands.

"Mr. Potter. I'm afraid I didn't catch what you were saying. Would you mind repeating?" The teller spoke with a gruff voice.

"Play along with him. Don't even look at that arrogant bastard." Vidar said with an amused tone.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Harry noticed the man turn sharply to look at him. The man seemed to be looking for Harry's scar which was hidden under his fringe. The girl on the other hand gazed at him with hidden curiosity. Not even turning to look at them, Harry replied to the teller.

"Of course not Mr.?"

The man beside Harry let out a disgusted grunt.

"Gnarlak." The teller replied with a toothy grin. He brought out a small metal plate from under his desk and placed it in front of him on the desk. It had his name imprinted on it. Harry assumed that the goblins don't display their nameplates since they didn't deem wizards worthy of knowing them.

"Teller Gnarlak, I-"

"Just call me Gnarlak." The teller said.

"Then you must call me Harry," Harry said with a smirk that was concealed as a smile. He could almost feel the heat coming from the man beside him who was fuming at the pleasantries being exchanged while he was being absolutely ignored.

"Well Harry, how may I help you?" Gnarlak asked.

At this point, the man seemed like he had enough. He roughly grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her along to another teller a bit further away from the one Harry was talking to. Even while the girl was being manhandled, she showed no emotion. They finally seemed to be acknowledged by a teller and went on with their business. The man didn't seem to be treating his teller any kinder though.

"Well, that was interesting. Thanks for dealing with him, sir." Harry said sincerely.

The goblin simply raised his eyebrows while his eyes widened by a small fraction. Harry then remembered Vidar's advice against talking necessarily and quickly started explaining the reason behind his visit.

"As I said before I was interrupted, I would like to be informed about the details of my inheritance from my family. I would also like to view the ledger and withdraw some money." Harry said boldly.

Gnarlak nodded. "Since your family was one of the more prominent ones and one of the first few to own a vault when Gringotts was initially opened, your family has its own account manager. He will be able to help you."

"Griphook. Take Mr. Potter to his account manager." Gnarlak ordered to a goblin seated nearby.

"Thanks for the help Gnarlak." Harry said as he reached out his hand.

This time, Gnarlak and Griphook, along with all the nearby goblins looked at Harry with astonishment.

Gnarlak laughed as he gripped Harry's hand with his own. "You are different from other wizards Mr. Potter. A rather good difference." He said as he let go of Harry's hand.

Harry just nodded and followed Griphook towards one of the doors situated at the end of the hall. As he walked, he passed the girl and her father. The man was busy looking at a thick tome while the girl stood beside him with a tensed posture.

When Harry caught her eye, he gave her a small smile. The girl just stared at him for a second and then nodded at him and quickly turned back towards the tome.

'Well, I was at least able to get a reaction out of her.' Harry thought as he followed Griphook.

Behind the door to the left was an incredibly long corridor. There were doors on both sides of the corridor, each with the name of a family written on a board above the door. On the end of the corridor was another door which was isolated from the others. This one was different from the others as it seemed to be made of gold. There were a couple of guards outside it. Harry followed Griphook along the corridor, curiously reading the family names. He passed by boards that read Bones, Nott, Malfoy, Longbottom, Greengrass, Black and finally, came to a stop before Potter. The Potter family door was one of the closest to the golden door. The sign above the golden door read 'The Director.'

Griphook knocked on the door. A gravelly voice came from behind it. "Enter."

Griphook looked at Harry and said, "You may enter. I am not permitted to enter. I will be waiting outside."

With a nod, he gently opened the door and entered, closing the door behind him. He stood in a spacious room that was basked in dim yellow light from the lonesome chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In the centre of the room was a medium-sized table made of teak wood. A wizened goblin with slick grey hair was seated behind the table. He sported numerous nasty scars on his face, the worst was the one running across his left eye. He was missing half of his right ear and had an overall battle-worn appearance. Behind the goblin was a shelf that covered the entire wall. It was filled with several books along with parchments, files and weird instruments.

The wall to the right of Harry was adorned with weapons and shields while the one to the left had a painting of a tree. When Harry looked closer, he noticed that there were photos of wizards and witches along with their names on each branch.

"I see your family tree has caught your eye." The same gravelly voice Harry heard before, came from the goblin.

Harry turned back towards the goblin and walked towards him. He noticed that unlike the tellers, this goblin had his nameplate on his desk. It read 'Account Manager Ripclaw'.

"Good afternoon Account Manager Ripclaw. I was informed that you would be able to help me with my inheritances, that is if I have any." Harry said politely.

Ripclaw's eyes widened a fraction at Harry's courtesy but unlike his other brethren, he concealed his surprise well.

"Yes. Sit." Riplclaw said with a grunt. Harry, for his part, didn't seem perturbed by Ripclaw's bluntness. He thanked Ripclaw and took a seat.

"First, I need you to confirm who you are." Ripclaw said and took a small silver bowl from under his desk and gave it to Harry. "Just drip a drop of your blood in it."

Harry bit his thumb and squeezed a drop of blood into the bowl. Ripclaw waved his hand over the bowl and the name 'Harry Potter' appeared in the air above the bowl. Ripclaw replaced the bowl under his desk and looked sharply at Harry.

"May I know why you are twenty two hours late to our original appointment, Mr. Potter?" Ripclaw asked in an extremely annoyed tone.

"What? What do you mean late, Account Manager Ripclaw? What appointment?" Harry asked in bafflement. "Oh, and please call me Harry."

Ripclaw nodded and said, "Fine, then call me Ripclaw." He then looked at Harry with narrowed eyes. "I assume that you never received the letter containing the details of our appointment that was sent two days prior to your birthday. Am I right?"

"Letter? I never got any letter. In fact, the only letter I've gotten in my entire life was my Hogwarts acceptance letter." Harry replied.

"I see." Ripclaw said thoughtfully while scratching the stubble on his chin. "May I know how you received your Hogwarts letter?"

"Well, it came through the post the day before my birthday." Harry answered.

"Post?"

"It's a muggle way of delivering letters. They don't use owls." Harry explained. He knew wizards used owls to exchange letters as he had witnessed it many times when his parents were still alive. No matter how painful and disturbing it was to watch his entire life again, he was beyond thankful that he was able to remember everything that happened during the first fifteen months of his life. He found solace in the fact that his parents were great and loving people who really cared for him. 'If only that bastard Voldemort never attacked us. We would've been one happy family. I would've even had a sibling.' Harry thought woefully. At the onset of a sinking, depressing feeling, Harry quickly squashed his thoughts and went back to the matter on hand.

"Hmm… that's unnatural." Ripclaw said with suspicion. "Hogwarts letters are always sent by owls. Even muggleborns receive their letters either by owl or it is given personally by the Hogwarts professor sent to accompany them to Diagon Alley. It almost seems as though the staff were aware that you wouldn't be able to receive letters through owls. Since the entire wizarding world use owls for long distance correspondence, I assume that there must be a ward placed around your house that prevents owls to enter. This may also be the answer to why you never received any mail from the wizarding world."

"Ahh. Seems like a blood ward is not all that was around that house. Whoever did this did not leave any loose ends did he?" Vidar said rhetorically in Harry's mind.

"Is there a way to-" Harry started when he was interrupted by Vidar.

"Don't bother asking, child. It's not like you will be going back to that hovel anyways."

"What do you mean? I have nowhere else to go." Harry said sorrowfully.

"Really? Did you really think I would let you go back to those pigs?" Vidar deadpanned. "Did you already forget your ancestry? We have quite a lot of properties."

Harry felt a warm feeling in his stomach. 'Is this how it feels to have someone look out for you?' Harry thought with equal amounts of joy and melancholy. His elation finally took over when he realised that he would never return to the Dursley's.

"We would have to go back there at least once though."

Harry quickly sobered. "Why?" He asked.

"For all the pain they inflicted on you, it is only fair if we return the favour right?" Vidar said with an edge in his voice. "Or, we could just kill them and get it over with."

Harry mentally gulped. He didn't know whether he should feel thrilled at the prospect of revenge or revolted at even thinking about intentionally killing someone. While killing wasn't something entirely new for him, murdering the Dursleys in cold blood wouldn't make him any better than them or Voldemort… right?

Harry was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Ripclaw clearing his throat. It was then he realised that he had been silent for the past five minutes while he left his question to Ripclaw hanging halfway.

"Oh I apologize, I was lost in my thoughts." Harry said bashfully. "Never mind, I will figure out a way to remove the ward."

"Do make sure that you do." Ripclaw said. "Now, let us move on to what I wanted to initially discuss with you. As you are the last remaining heir of the Ancient and Noble house of Potter I am required to inform you about your duties and inheritances."

"Excuse me, sorry for interrupting you sir but what exactly is an Ancient and Noble house?" Harry asked.

Ripclaw looked enraged but thankfully, it wasn't directed towards Harry. "Do you really know nothing about your stature? I knew you were raised by your muggle relatives but they were supposed to know about the magical world. Surely they informed you something about your standing in the wizarding world." He said with a snarl, baring his sharp teeth.

Harry flinched a bit when he heard this. Harry's reaction made Ripclaw's eyes narrow further.

"Ripclaw, I only figured out that I was a wizard when I received my Hogwarts letter."

Ripclaw looked murderous but he didn't comment any further on it. Harry doubted Ripclaw would be able to reign in his temper any longer if they discussed the matter more.

After calming down, Ripclaw started speaking again. "Alright, let me enlighten you a little about how politics work in Wizarding Britain. During the eleventh century, the wizarding community was in an erratic state after the fall of the ruler of Wizarding Britain. There were no rules and crimes were at an all-time high. That was when seven powerful individuals united under the same goals and pooled in their knowledge and wealth. The seven drafted a constitution. They formed the Ministry of Magic which governed over the entire Wizarding Britain which imposed several laws and rules to be followed by the citizens. Due to their power and respect, they were never opposed."

"The Ministry of Magic of Britain currently has a high court of law or parliament under the name of Wizengamot. The Wizengamot is a political body that basically controls the Ministry of Magic. It passes or rejects laws and also decides the verdict of convicts. It has a total of fifty seats. There are seven Most Ancient and Noble houses; Peverell, Bones, Black and the four Hogwarts founders- Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each seat of the seven holds five votes. Currently, all seven are unoccupied. There are no specific lord or heir for the founders since their line dissolved into numerous families and thus their four seats were annulled. The Peverells are known to be extinct. There has been no Black lord since the last one died and the only adult in the Bones family holds another position."

"There are twenty four Ancient and Noble houses; Abbott, Avery, Bulstrode, Burke, Carrow, Crouch, Fawley, Flint, Greengrass, Lestrange, Longbottom, Macmillan, Malfoy, Nott, Parkinson, Potter, Prewett, Rosier, Rowle, Selwyn, Shacklebolt, Travers, Yaxley and Zabini. Each seat of the twenty four holds three votes each. There are fourteen other seats occupied by order of Merlin holders and a few other minor houses such as Davis, Shafiq, Macnair, Lowe, Runcorn and Mulciber. They hold one vote each. The last five members of the Wizengamot are the Minister for Magic; Cornelius Fudge, Senior Undersecretary; Dolores Umbridge (Ripclaw said this name as though he had tasted something vile), Chief Warlock; Albus Dumbledore, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Amelia Bones and finally, a random scribe. These five have no votes and are supposed to be neutral during all decisions made."

"It is not the duty of goblins to inform you of this but since your family has always been cordial with the goblins and since you seem to follow in their footsteps on this matter, consider this my favour to you." Ripclaw finished.

Harry was genuinely grateful and thanked Ripclaw profusely.

"Now you know that since you are the heir of the Potter family, you hold a seat in the Wizengamot."

When Ripclaw said this, Harry grinned mischievously. He knew he was the last remaining Peverell and probably Black as well. He couldn't wait to see the look on Ripclaw's face when he finds out. Vidar shared the same thoughts.

For the first since Harry had entered the room, Ripclaw's condescending demeanour faltered.

"I've seen that expression far too many times on your father's and grandfather's face to know that I am not going to like what you are about to do next." Ripclaw said carefully.

Harry laughed out loud at hearing this. "Oh don't worry Ripclaw. I'm sure you will like it."

"Ask for a genealogy test." Vidar instructed.

"Ripclaw, I would like to take a genealogy test." Harry said.

Ripclaw nodded slowly and turned towards his shelf. As he looked through a file, a frown started making its way on Ripclaw's thin lips.

"Ah Harry, while I was checking if a test had already been done for you, I came across a piece of rather interesting information." Ripclaw said while still looking at his file.

Harry, with all his previous mischievousness gone, asked "Oh? What did you find?"

Ripclaw turned to face Harry. "As soon as your parents were killed, I was prohibited from conducting a genealogy test on you."

Harry looked downtrodden. "Who prohibited you? The Ministry?"

"No. It was your guardian who disallowed me from conducting the test." Ripclaw answered.

"WHAT?!" Harry roared. "The Dursleys made sure that I couldn't get a genealogy test?"

Seemingly unfazed by Harry's outburst, Ripclaw calmly shook his head and replied. "While the Dursleys are your relatives and the one's that you lived the past ten years with, they are not your guardians. Every non-muggleborn magical child is required to have a guardian who is either a witch or a wizard. The headmaster of Hogwarts acts as the guardian for muggleborns."

"Who is my guardian then?" Harry asked impatiently.

"Albus Dumbledore."

"Ahh. Finally, we have found your puppet master. The man who is trying to take control of your life for unknown reasons." Vidar said scornfully.

"How the hell did he even become my guardian? Surely he isn't related to me in any way. Right?" Harry asked.

"No, he isn't related to you as far as I know. As to how he attained your guardianship, I truly do not know. Whether he did it illegally or legally, I have no clue. An orphan in the magical world is usually adopted by his or her closest magical relative. In your case, you should've been adopted by your aunts Andromeda or Narcissa. If an orphan has no relatives, the Wizengamot chooses the most eligible adoptive parents for the child. How you ended up with Dumbledore baffles me." Ripclaw confessed.

"Looks like he went through a lot of questionable procedures to gain your guardianship. He might have even done it illegally but Dumbledore is a powerful individual. Nobody would question him." Vidar said.

"Powerful? How?" Harry asked.

"He may be extremely old but he holds several important political titles and is immensely knowledgeable. The main contributing factor though is the fact that he is the defeater of the dark lord Grindelwald." Vidar explicated.

"Who is Grindelwald?"

"That is a topic for another time. Now is not the time. Now we need to know more about how Dumbledore has been influencing your life." Vidar replied.

"What else has Dumbledore imposed upon me?" Harry asked Ripclaw.

"Besides denying a genealogy test, I assume that he is the one who warded your house against allowing owls to enter." Ripclaw said as he glanced at his file again. "Oh oops, looks like he didn't want me to educate you about your political stature as well. Well, that's unfortunate since I've already informed you about it." Ripclaw said though he didn't sound regretful at all.

"You do realise that Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts right?" Vidar said slowly.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? It's just another title added to his seemingly unending list of accomplishments and titles." Harry said irately.

"Use your brain, child." Vidar said calmly. "He is the one who put up the owl repelling wards on your house. You also got your Hogwarts letter through muggle post."

Realisation dawned upon Harry. "Wait… does that mean… are there other magical schools?"

"Of course there are other magical schools. There are two others in Europe. There are countless all over the world. You are famous worldwide. Isn't it suspicious that you only got an acceptance letter from Hogwarts and no other schools? I'm sure headmasters from all over the world would want the defeater of a dark lord in their school." Vidar said.

"So… so that means that not only did Dumbledore prevent anyone in the magical world from corresponding with me but also prevented me from joining other schools? He wants me to join his school for what? To keep an eye on me the entire time? Why is he even so interested in me?" Harry asked, becoming increasingly infuriated.

Vidar didn't say anything for a while. "Yes. As to why, I guess we will find out soon but hopefully not when it's too late. But I do wonder, he is your guardian, he wants to keep an eye on you at his school and thus he pretty much forced you to join Hogwarts, but the question is, where else did he force you to?" Vidar asked softly. He knew the answer but wanted Harry to realise it too since Harry didn't seem to catch it yet.

Vidar didn't need to wait long as things clicked into place in Harry's mind. "He is the one who threw me at the Dursley's." Harry whispered out loud with widened eyes. That was when everything started sliding into the picture.

Dumbledore was the old man who often argued with his parents. He was the one who always watched Harry with a calculative gaze. He was interested in Harry ever since he was born. He was the tall old man with a long beard who ordered Hagrid to take Harry away from Sirius while he was in an emotionally unbalanced state. Harry knew Sirius was his godfather. He watched the first day of his life when his father named Sirius as his godfather. If Dumbledore got his guardianship, then what happened to Sirius after Harry was taken away from him? Dumbledore was the one who placed him at the Dursley's doorstep with just a letter in the middle of a cold winter night. He was the one who took his blood and created the blood wards. Wards that trapped Harry at the Dursleys by preventing anyone from visiting him. Dumbledore was the one who didn't give him an option to choose from his school. He was the one who blocked every communication that Harry could've had with the Wizarding world. He was the reason why Harry couldn't get to know his true heritage and almost didn't know his importance in the wizarding world. He was also the reason Harry had to live a life worse than a slave.

As these unpleasant thoughts plagued Harry's mind, Harry's anger at Dumbledore reached extreme levels. Harry had never felt such fury ever before in his life. His hands were trembling and his vision blurred into a red hue. The lights in the room dimmed, as though submitting to Harry's wrath. The chandelier started shaking violently and the contents of the shelf behind Ripclaw were falling over. Ripclaw quailed at the sight of Harry, whose eyes were glowing. He almost wanted to kneel before Harry as the eleven year old's magic clashed with his own.

"Calm down, child." Vidar said soothingly in Harry's mind. "Your anger is justified but it unreasonable to express it right now. Do not try to snuff out your anger though, it never ends well. I ask you to suppress it and lock it up. Emotions are an excellent driving potential and play a major role in the use of magic but now is not the moment to release your anger. You… we will get an opportunity to take revenge, use your anger then but not right now. Please calm down." Vidar said soothingly.

Harry started to notice the damage he was causing and immediately closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths while focusing on just his breathing and nothing else. He locked up all the thoughts that induced his anger deep inside his mind.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Harry felt himself relax and as the anger left him, he slumped back in his seat, completely exhausted. The raw magic he used had taken a lot of energy from him.

Ripclaw, who looked at Harry with wide eyes was the first to speak. Thankfully for him, Harry didn't notice his moment of weakness. "That was an impressive display of raw magical talent, Harry. I almost feel bad for those that will be on the receiving end of it… almost."

Harry let out a weak chuckle. "Sorry about that Ripclaw, I need to learn to control my emotions more."

"Yes, you do." Ripclaw said wryly. "Now moving onto a happier note, you need to understand that while Dumbledore did prohibit me from conducting a genealogy test on you, there is no law that forces me to bide by his wishes. I answer only to the heir and lord of the family that I am the manager of. Not the heir's guardian." He said with a gleam in his black eyes.

Harry immediately sat up at hearing this and almost started bouncing on his seat in excitement. "Well, what are we waiting for then?" He asked impatiently with wide eager eyes.

Ripclaw turned back to his shelf while shaking his head at Harry's antics. He grabbed an ancient looking parchment and then pulled out a dagger from under his desk. "Smear your blood on the parchment."

Without second thoughts, Harry made a rather large cut on his palm and rubbed it against the parchment, letting his blood soak it. As he retreated his hand, Ripclaw snapped his finger and the cut healed. After Harry thanked Ripclaw, they sat staring at the parchment. The blood started moving on its own accord and started forming words.

With each line that appeared, Ripclaw's eyebrows raised higher and higher and at the last line, both Harry and Ripclaw were shocked. It read,

Harry James Potter

Heir of the houses

Potter

Black

Peverell

Evanthia

"Evanthia?" Harry questioned Vidar.

"Yes. I had my suspicions that you were a descendant of the infamous Evanthia family but I couldn't prove it. I am sure now though." Vidar answered.

"Infamous? I assume that my mother somehow belonged to the Evanthia family?"

"Yes and yes. Infamous because the members of the Evanthia family were staunch supporters of the dark witch Morgana Le Fay." From Harry's silence, Vidar surmised that Harry had no clue who Le Fay was and gave a short summary of the story behind her rise and fall.

"Morgana le Fay was a medieval dark witch, famous for being the enemy of the legendary wizard Merlin and the half-sister of King Arthur. She lived during the sixth century. Initially, she was renowned for her talent in healing and transfiguration- it is the family of magical spells that are used for changing objects from one type of thing into another. Over time, she became interested in learning the dark arts and became proficient in it. During this time, she fell in love with Merlin, who was the adviser of King Arthur, the ruler of Avalon. When Merlin became aware of his beloved's interest in dark magic, he tried to help her stop practising it but it drove a wedge between them. Finally, Le Fay's thirst for power took over her and she became one of the most powerful dark witches of the period and decided to kill King Arthur and take over Avalon. A legendary battle took place where she nearly won but unfortunately for her, she was no match for Merlin who reluctantly killed her in battle. Le Fay breathed her last in the arms of her lover."

"The Evanthia family fought alongside her and were also killed in battle. It was widely known that they had no heirs or heiresses to the family but I've heard rumours that they disowned their heir who happened to be born as a squib. It seems like the squib survived in the muggle world and his family had maintained their name though it was probably changed to Evans. It seems like Lily Evans, a supposed muggle born, is the first person to be gifted with magic in the Evanthia family ever since the Arthurian period." Vidar elucidated.

Harry was just listening to Vidar with rapt attention, trying to drink in all the new information.

Ripclaw was finally able to snap out of his stupor right when Vidar was done explaining. "Well, I had expected Potter and Black. Peverell was definitely a surprise. Evanthia though, I completely did not see it coming. The house of Evanthia was well known and respected among the darker families. Seems like they did squib out and your mother finally broke tradition. The house does not own a vault here and does not have a Wizengamot seat but this revelation changes a lot of things."

"How so?" Harry questioned.

"This means you are a pureblood, Harry."

"I'm a what?" Harry asked in befuddlement.

"A pureblood is a w-"

"I know what a pureblood is." Harry snapped in frustration. Upon seeing Ripclaw's annoyance, he slightly backtracked. "Sorry, I just want to know how. This is a lot to take in." He said with a sigh while running his hand through his hair.

"I understand." Ripclaw said. "The law states that the first generation that is blessed with magic among an ancient squib line is considered as a pureblood. This is largely accepted by the world as the lighter factions believe it as a revival of ancient families while the darker factions believe that ancient families squib out due to them being unworthy of magic and the first one to be blessed with magic has purified blood and is thus capable of magic. According to this law, your mother was a pureblood and thus, so are you."

"So you mean that even though the squibs lived in the muggle world and probably married muggles, the first witch or wizard in the family becomes a pureblood?" Harry summarized.

"Yes." Ripclaw confirmed.

"Wow." Harry breathed out. "Did my mother know about this?"

"Unfortunately, no. Muggleborns do no open vaults in Gringotts often and even if they do, they do not bother taking genealogy tests." Ripclaw said regretfully. "If she had known, she and James would've avoided a vast amount of backlash from blood purity supporters due to their marriage. Truly unfortunate indeed."

Harry nodded sadly. He knew to some extent that there was prejudice among the wizarding world in the basis of blood. His father had often protested loudly while at home against the injustice done in the day to day life.

"Well now that that is done, let us move on to other matters." Ripclaw said.

"Wait Ripclaw, is there any way to change my guardianship from Dumbledore to someone else?" Harry asked hopefully.

Ripclaw looked thoughtful for a moment and slowly shook his head. "There are two ways but I'm afraid neither would work for you. One, if Dumbledore dies or willingly gives up the guardianship, then you would probably be given to your aunts in the magical world but I don't think this is probable since Dumbledore, despite his extremely old age, does seem to be healthy and judging from the difficulties he went through to get hold of you, he definitely will not be giving you up."

"The second option is if a direct family member demands your guardianship in Wizengamot, he or she will be successful. Unfortunately, your mother's parents died a few years after your mother died and your father's parents were killed by death eaters; the Dark Lord's followers, during James' sixth year at Hogwarts. However, you would like to know that your grandfather, Charlus took twenty two of the twenty five that ambushed him, along with him to his grave."

Despite his growing sorrow, Harry felt a surge of pride in the fact that most of his family members were fierce fighters and died a warrior's death.

"Your godmother Alice Longbottom was tortured to insanity along with her husband by death eaters, a few months after the fall of the Dark lord."

Harry remembered his godmother. She had often visited the Potters along with her own son, who was around Harry's age. She took a liking towards Harry and so did Harry. The news of her condition only fed to his hatred towards Voldemort and his followers.

"And finally, your godfather, Sirius Black was imprisoned for life in Azkaban, the wizarding prison. He was convicted for the murder of twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew, along with the betrayal of the Potters."

Harry was in a daze when he heard this. "Betrayal?" He asked weakly.

"Yes. The Potters actively opposed the Dark lord but once you were born, they went into hiding. It was widely known that they used the Fidelius charm to protect their cottage. The Fidelius Charm is an extremely difficult and potent charm that can be used to conceal a secret inside an individual's soul; the witch or wizard who houses the secret is known as the Secret Keeper. A dwelling whose location has been protected by this spell is then invisible, intangible, unplottable and soundproof." Ripclaw explained. "Sirius was known to be the Secret keeper but since the Potters were attacked, it was obvious that he gave away their location. Since the Blacks were a predominantly dark family, Sirius was automatically claimed as a death eater though the truth behind such claims is unknown."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. Sirius Black, his sworn godfather, had betrayed his parents? The Sirius who would let Harry ride on his shoulders? The same Sirius that bought Harry his first broom and had to endure Lily's telling-off for three hours straight? The same Sirius that let Harry ride on his back while in the form of a dog and spent hours doing nothing but make Harry shriek with laughter with his comical face and jokes? Harry just couldn't believe Sirius would betray his parents. They were as close as siblings for god's sake, and kill twelve muggles to boot? There was absolutely no way. Why Sirius supposedly killed Peter though, Harry had no idea. Harry recalled his uncle figures- Peter and Remus. He always liked Remus or Moony, as he liked to call affectionately, much more than Peter. Whatever happened to him? Harry once again had no clue.

The entire situation screamed the involvement of Dumbledore. Harry was confident that Dumbledore played a part in Sirius's imprisonment, guilty or not, the deliberate removal of Sirius from Harry's list of possible guardians seemed a bit too convenient for Dumbledore, almost as though he planned it all along. Harry mentally swore to get to the bottom of this and figure out the truth one way or another. If Sirius was truly innocent as Harry suspected, then he would not only restore justice to Sirius but also get rid of Dumbledore's guardianship over him.

"I see. So I am stuck with Dumbledore for the foreseeable future then?" Harry said with venom in his voice.

Ripclaw grimaced. "Yes."

"Anyways, now that you are the heir of two Most Ancient and Noble house and an Ancient and Noble house, you can take your seats when you are of age, that is seventeen or when you are emancipated." Ripclaw said, trying to take Harry's mind away from the guardianship and avoiding another outburst from him.

"Isn't coming of age and emancipation the same?" Harry enquired.

"Not in your case, no. Since you are the last remaining heir of two families, your guardian can emancipate you when you turn thirteen." Ripclaw said.

Harry sighed. 'Seventeen it is then.' He thought miserably. "Ripclaw, you knew that I was supposed to be raised by my Aunt Andromeda or Narcissa. Why then did you allow Dumbledore to take me?"

Ripclaw looked apologetically at Harry. "I am a goblin Harry. Our only relation with the wizards and witches is with their finances and inheritances. We hold no power in the Ministry and we definitely cannot oppose someone who is as powerful and looked up to as Dumbledore without starting a conflict. For all it's worth, I truly am sorry Harry."

Harry smiled understandingly. "I appreciate it Ripclaw. While it is preposterous that you goblins are often disparaged, there isn't much we can do about it can we?" He asked rhetorically.

Ripclaw nodded. "It is rather refreshing to speak with a wizard who doesn't treat us like vermin. You are a good person Harry Potter."

Harry beamed at Ripclaw.

"Alright enough of that. The last few topics I wanted to discuss about are your vault information, properties, investments and recent transactions. All of this information is in your ledgers. I would like you to go through it and if you have any queries, I will answer them." Ripclaw said and then proceeded to take a large book from his shelf and placed them on his desk. He then called for Griphook to collect the ledgers of Black and Peverell and then placed them on the desk as well. "The front page has your total wealth and properties owned. The second page has your investments made using the money from that particular vault. The remaining pages are full of all the past transactions made."

With a flick of Ripclaw's hand, all three books arranged separately in front of Harry and opened to show him the first page.

Black vaults

Number of vaults: 1 (Merged)

11,286,609 Galleons (Sickles and Knuts included)

Monetary value of possessions: 5,000,000 Galleons (Approx.)

Properties owned: No. 12 Grimmauld Place in London, Black island in Sicily, Penthouse in New York. Other properties are destroyed.

Peverell vaults

Number of vaults: 1 (Merged)

34,610,732 Galleons (Sickles and Knuts included)

Monetary value of possessions: 9,000,000 (Approx.)

Properties owned: Axel Manor in Old Knockturn London, Avebury Manor in Austria, Magnolia estate in Iceland. Other properties are destroyed.

Potter vaults

Number of vaults: 2

Main vault: 5,702,090 Galleons (Sickles and Knuts included)

Trust vault: 50,000 Galleons

Monetary value of possessions: 1,000,000 (Approx.)

Properties owned: Potter cottage in Godric's Hollow, Potter Manor in Wales, Château de Velen in France. Other properties are destroyed.

Harry felt faint after reading through the first page of all three books. To say he was rich would be an understatement. 'I am a millionaire and yet I lived in a cupboard, wearing hand-me-downs and had to steal money to fill my stomach. Ah, the irony.' Harry mused.

According to Ripclaw, since there are no other members in the Peverell family and Black family; ones that aren't married into another family, the vaults of all individual members who passed away were merged together as one.

"Until you are emancipated, you can only draw money from your trust vault. The vault refills every five years." Ripclaw added. "One galleon equals five pounds if you didn't know."

Fifty thousand galleons for five years was definitely too much for Harry. He knew he would hardly burn through half of it even if he spent his money generously. Besides, what would an eleven year old even spend lavish amounts of money on? Harry nodded dumbly when Ripclaw also explained the value of a sickle in terms of knuts and a galleon in terms of sickles. He still felt lightheaded from the discovery of his vast amounts of wealth.

Harry barely read through the second page containing the numerous investments in businesses. Only the Blacks and Potters had made investments but harry simply skimmed through it as he couldn't understand most of it. He moved onto the next few pages and the contents made his blood boil.

Black vault

Last transaction:-

Alfred Black withdrew 2,500 Galleons; Date: 27 November, 1979

Peverell vault

Last transaction:-

Ignotus Peverell withdrew 7,000 Galleons; Date: 09 July, 1291

Potter vault

Main vault

Last transaction:-

James Potter withdrew 10,000 Galleons; Date: 15 July, 1980

Trust vault

Last transaction:-

Albus Dumbledore withdrew 50,000 Galleons; Date 1 August, 1985

When Harry read further into his trust vault transactions, he discovered that Dumbledore and someone called Molly Weasley withdrew money frequently ever since Harry was sent to the Dursley's. When the vault had refilled on 31st July, 1985, Dumbledore had emptied it. Thankfully, it was untouched after the refill on 31st July 1990. Dumbledore and some Weasley bitch had robbed a total of hundred thousand galleons from Harry. He was absolutely livid.

"How did you let him rob so much money from me?" Harry asked indignantly.

While Ripclaw shared Harry's anger, he looked affronted at being accused of allowing robbery. "He did not rob money from you, Harry. As your guardian, he possesses the key to your trust vault. Besides, he doesn't need my permission to withdraw the money, all he needs is the key. We goblins deal with theft seriously and it isn't against our law to prosecute against a thief in any means possible. Unfortunately, what Dumbledore did is not illegal." He said defensively.

When Harry made to protest with no small amount of temper, Ripclaw quickly diffused the situation by providing Harry with a solution. "There is a solution though. As Account Manager, I can summon the key from whoever is possessing it by means of a protocol in case of robbery. Also, before you ask, all your other vaults do not have keys and can only be accessed by a member of the family."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief at hearing this. "That's good, please summon the key."

Ripclaw sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He started chanting in a weird language that sounded like a series of grunts. When he was done, a golden key materialised on his outstretched palm. He handed it over to Harry who quickly pocketed it after muttering a word of thanks.

"Is there a way to retrieve the money that Dumbledore and Weasley stole from me?" Harry asked. Though the amount they took didn't even make a dent in his sizable fortune, he didn't want them to get away with it. The money was inconsequential for him. It was the victory against Dumbledore that Harry really wanted.

Unfortunately for him, since Dumbledore did nothing illegal, Harry had to accept defeat. Ripclaw stated the same.

"Don't worry, child. The game has just begun, we will get plenty more opportunities to get back at him. Right now, what is important is what we have accomplished so far. Dumbledore no longer has access to your vault, he probably doesn't even know your relation with Evanthia and Peverell families. You know about your political standings and some details about your remaining family members. You no longer have to live with those pigs and most importantly, you have me. Dumbledore nearly lost more than half of the control he had over you. He probably expects you to be a weak-minded and beaten up child who craves for acceptance when you enter Hogwarts but now we know that he is just an evil manipulative bastard who is trying to shape you up to his liking and Merlin knows what he is planning to do with you. Now we show him and everyone else who tries to mess with your life what a real Axel is capable of." Vidar said vehemently.

Harry agreed wholeheartedly.

"I think this concl-"

"Wait Ripclaw, as an Account Manager, you deal with all the investments and management of my wealth right?" Harry interrupted.

"Yes, but I only deal with the Potter holdings. There are other managers for the Black and Peverell families." Ripclaw answered.

"I see. Is it possible for me to make the other two goblins as your assistants and make you the lead manager?" Harry asked. "I think it would be easier this way."

Ripclaw looked dubious for a moment and then finally answered. "I think that would be possible, yes."

"Great, then please inform the other goblins." Harry said, looking relieved. "Also, I would like you to put a stop to the investments in unsuccessful companies and decide which companies will provide us with most profit and invest in those instead. I give you permission to deal with these but I would like a monthly report on all the investments made along with the profits or losses." Harry said earnestly. "As payment for your troubles, you may take 20% of the profits."

Ripclaw looked shell-shocked. "Are you sure Harry? 20% is too much when compared to what other wizards pay their managers."

"Well, I'm not like other wizards am I?" Harry said with a smile. "Consider it a token of appreciation for everything you have done for me so far and as a motivation to work harder and increase profits. I do hope that I could count on you in the future just like how you can count on me."

"I appreciate it Harry and yes I do believe we could become good partners in the near future." Ripclaw said with a toothy grin.

"Partners? Not friends?" Harry said with a fake pout and then laughed at Ripclaw's surprised expression. Soon, Griphook found Harry and Ripclaw laughing merrily in the room when he came to deliver Ripclaw's lunch.

Looking at Griphook, they sobered. "I will take my leave then. Thanks for everything Ripclaw, I hope we meet again soon." Harry said while standing up and clasped Ripclaw's hand and gave a firm shake.

"It was a pleasure, Harry. May your gold always flow." Ripclaw said.

Harry nodded and departed from the room, once again giving his family tree a glance. He tore his eyes away from the name Sirius Black as he left the room.

Harry followed Griphook along the corridor and exited through the door leading back to the main hall. He noticed that the rude man and his daughter were no longer there. That was when Harry noticed that it was nearly three in the afternoon. He quickly asked Griphook to take him to his trust vault. Harry followed Griphook through the other door and into an entrance of a cave. They took a cart, which was probably Harry's most enjoyable experience in a long time. He got himself a bottomless money pouch and collected 5,000 Galleons from his vault. He did need an entire wardrobe after all and he didn't really know what the prices were like in the wizarding world. After thanking an astonished Griphook, Harry finally exited Gringotts.

Harry went back to the same restaurant he had had breakfast in and ordered a Shepherd's pie.

"Hey Vidar, did anybody else claim the Peverell title in the past?" Harry asked while munching on his pie.

Upon Vidar's negative reply he asked, "Surely the other Potters took a genealogy test right?"

"Yes, most of the Potters took a genealogy test but the Peverell family magic never accepted any of them. Even if the Peverell name appears on the parchment, the family magic must accept the person if they want to take up the official Peverell title or access the vaults." Vidar responded.

"Family magic?"

"Yes, every ancient family has their own version of magic. Every witch and wizard has a unique type of magic which they draw from their cores. Their individual magic differs in quantity, strength and affinity to certain branches of magic such as transfiguration or dark arts. Family magic is the similarity in the magic of witches and wizards of a particular family that gets accumulated over generations in most descendants. Over time, the magic itself takes its own form. Some types of family magic can communicate with the person, some take corporeal forms, some gift descendants with certain abilities, some impart knowledge on some particular field and some may protect the person to some extent. As I said, not all wizard or witch in a family is gifted with the family magic but not being gifted is rare. The Peverell family magic is extremely picky though. The three brothers were the last ones gifted with the Peverell family magic." Vidar explained. "Only the person with the family magic will be accepted by the head of the house ring. Only those with the head of the house ring can take up their Wizengamot seat and effectively become the Lord of the house."

"So, even though I am a descendant of Peverell, Potter and Black, I would not be able to take up my Wizengamot seat or family headship if I do not have the family magic in me?" Harry asked worriedly. "Then why did Ripclaw seem so sure that I would be able to take my seat once I am emancipated?"

"Do not worry, child. The Potter and Black family magic were always assimilated in its descendants. It is the Peverell family magic that is the issue. However, I am able to sense it in you, so do not fret." Vidar said. "Besides, Ripclaw would never have been able to show you the Peverell vault ledger if you were not gifted with the Peverell family magic."

Harry relaxed when he heard this. "But wait, how would Ripclaw be able to access the vaults for investments if I didn't take up the headship yet?"

"Good question. Well, I am not a goblin, I do not know all of their laws but I know that they already have access to the vaults so that they can add the profits of the investments that were already made. So, I'm sure that is how they would be able to take and deposit money. Their laws do strictly prohibit them from robbing the money so they would never be able to trick the wizards and take the money for themselves." Vidar answered.

Harry nodded. "So, if I do have the family magic of Peverell, Potter and Black-"

"Evanthia as well." Vidar added.

"Yes, and Evanthia, then what do I get from it? Does it protect me or give me some abilities?" Harry asked curiously.

"What you gain from the family magic differs from person to person. The Potters never had any special abilities. They were always talented in defensive magic though. Some Blacks were metamorphmagi; it is the ability to change physical appearance through sheer will alone, you do not have it though. The Blacks, in general, were well known for their warding skill. The Evanthia family were talented in dark arts. Peverells or Axels were good with wandless magic." Vidar answered.

"Wicked." Harry said excitedly.

After finished his lunch, Harry paid the bill and decided to purchase his school requirements and do a little bit of shopping for himself as well. He took out his Hogwarts letter and checked the requirements.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

"Clothes first then." Harry said and followed Vidar's directions to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. He passed by a bookstore and finally arrived at decent sized shop where ostentatious looking robes and dresses were displayed at the forefront.

Upon entering, Harry was relieved to find that the store looked relatively empty besides a small girl and a woman. He knew that he looked like an oddball in the wizarding world, wearing dirty oversized muggle clothing, not to mention he probably looked bedraggled and pretty exhausted since he hardly had any time to rest the day before. Said girl was standing on a raised platform while a measuring tape was flying across her as though it had a life of its own.

Harry mentally sighed in relief when he realised that nobody would get up close to him for measurement, he did smell quite a bit. Also, Harry would be the first to admit that he was socially retarded and did not appreciate closeness with other human beings thanks to ten years of solitary confinement and abuse.

Harry was greeted by a plump woman who wore a benevolent expression.

"How may I help you, my dear?" She asked.

Harry showed her his Hogwarts list containing his uniform requirements. "Make it five uniform robes rather than three and three cloaks rather than one. I would also like to purchase two pairs of formal shoes." He added.

"Sure, go ahead and stand on one of the platforms for measurements." She instructed while pointing to the two other platforms beside the girl.

Harry stood beside the girl while a measuring tape that was stationary a while ago, came to life and whizzed to him and started measuring his shoulder width. The measurements were automatically noted down on a book nearby.

"Hey! Are you purchasing Hogwarts uniform as well? Which year are you going into? Third year? You do look like a third year. I'm going into first year by the way." The girl beside Harry said cheerfully.

Harry turned to look at the girl with an amused expression. 'Now that's how an eleven year old girl should be like.' Harry thought wryly, thinking about the girl he met not long ago at Gringotts. Third year? Harry couldn't really blame her though as he was rather tall for his age, not excessively but about a couple of centimetres more than average but his lack of baby fat added to his mature and older appearance.

"Oh, I'm Tracey Davis by the way. I can't wait to go to Hogwarts but I don't want to leave my parents at the same time. How is it at Hogwarts? My father said it's a beautiful place." She gave a pause and then adopted a sheepish expression. "I'm rambling, aren't I? Daffy always says that I talk too much."

Harry chuckled at the girl's antics. He found that he rather liked being approached by someone of his own age, who spoke to him without any fear or hesitance. Dudley made sure that Harry had no friends in school and bullied all of his initial friends until they had no choice but to abandon him. Besides, even a socially awkward person couldn't ignore someone as exuberant as Tracey. He didn't bother asking who Daffy was as he just surmised she was her friend or sister.

Tracey was of average height, about half a head shorter than Harry. Unlike the other witches he had met at the alley, she wore a simple muggle dress. Must be a muggleborn or halfblood Harry thought, not that it mattered in the least for him, if anything, it made her more approachable for him. She had pixie-ish features with straight auburn hair that reached just below her shoulders. She had brown eyes and fair skin with a couple of freckles sprinkled on her nose.

"Hey Tracey, my name is…" Harry contemplated whether he should reveal his real name or not. Vidar said that the entire wizarding population knew his name and nearly hero-worshipped him. This made him extremely uncomfortable. He finally decided against it. If he was to make a friend, he would prefer it if the person knew him as just another kid rather than a celebrity. Hiding his true identity was made easier as he knew that nobody knew what he looked like as he was effectively hidden away from the wizarding world.

"James Evans." This way, he wasn't really lying. He would've shaken her hand if it weren't for the stupid tape that had decided to measure the length of his forearm at that moment.

"No, I am not a third year, I am entering first year as well." He replied.

"Oh, you look…" She paused and then stared at his outstretched hands while the tape was measuring him. She then proceeded to look at his torso and then finally at his face. When she noticed that he was looking at her with raised eyebrows, a faint blush crept up her cheeks.

"Urmm… uh well… too fit?" She stuttered. Even though Harry grew slightly self-conscious when Tracey was blatantly examining his veiny and toned arms, credit to the hours of manual labour at the Dursley's, he decided to relieve her of her embarrassment and changed the topic.

"So, what do you know about Hogwarts? Harry asked.

Tracey, who was glad to change the topic, immediately replied. "Oh not much honestly. My parents wouldn't tell me too much because of something along the lines of 'missing the fun of exploring by myself.'" She said with exasperation, complete with her finger quotes. "I just know a tiny bit about the houses, teachers and the subjects taught."

Just like that, they both fell into an easy conversation as Tracey shared what she knew and Harry who occasionally enquired about the things he didn't understand. Just as they were moving onto the topic of houses, Tracey's measurement tape was done. Madam Malkin informed her that her uniform would be delivered to her house through owl post.

"My mum is waiting for me at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, this was my last stop. I'm sorry I have to leave, I'm sure we will meet at Hogwarts or hopefully at the Hogwarts express." She said sadly, almost as though she was reluctant to leave Harry in the middle of their enjoyable conversation. Harry felt himself liking Tracey more at this revelation. "It was nice to meet you, bye bye." She said with a big wave.

"It was nice to meet you as well." Harry said while flashing her a bright smile and waved her goodbye as he slapped away the annoying measuring tape.

Once his measuring was done, Harry was told that he would have to wait an hour if he wanted his uniform on the same day. After accepting that he would wait, he proceeded out to the alley once again to complete his other shopping.

On his way to a trunk shop, Harry decided to engage Vidar in some small talk.

"So, why did you choose this particular ring as a Horcrux?" Harry asked while admiring the glowing ring. How Tracey didn't notice it, he didn't know.

"Probably because her attention was on other parts of your body." Vidar said sardonically.

"Hey!" Harry protested, blood rising to his cheeks. "I thought you said you can't read my thoughts."

"I did, but you actually unknowingly said that to me." Vidar said, chuckling. "Anyways, as to why I chose you, you must know that Horcruxes are usually nearly impossible to destroy. Only hell fire, basilisk venom or a killing curse can destroy it. My ring though is special because it was forged from a nearly indestructible metal, titanium. It is still possible to destroy it but it would take a lot more effort than usual. The ring was also forged using my blood. So, only those who are related to me by blood can wear it."

"It was crafted by Freya." He added grimly. "A sword was not all that she was skilled with."

Harry gave an imperceptible nod at that.

"You know, you never told me how to make a Horcrux."

Vidar grew silent for a minute as Harry continued walking. "Yes, I didn't." He replied.

"Well, how do you make one? Not that I want to make one, I think being immortal sucks and being stuck as a wraith sucks even more, no offence to you." Harry said. "I'm just curious."

After another moments pause, Vidar finally answered. "I don't think you are ready to know yet. I will let you know when you are… ready to make one and when we have the necessary… ingredients."

"What? I don't really want to make one though." Harry argued.

"Let us not discuss this now, you may change your mind one day and when you do, I will tell you." Vidar said in a tone that allowed no further argument.

Harry decided to drop it for now. He wondered why Vidar was acting so strange when it came to making a Horcrux. 'What did he even mean by me not being ready?' Harry pondered.

"Banana peel." Vidar suddenly called out.

Harry immediately froze, his right foot hovering over a banana peel on the pavement. He avoided stepping on it and rubbed his neck sheepishly. He couldn't imagine the embarrassment he would've felt if an entire crowd of witches and wizards witnessed him face plant on the street because of a stupid banana peel.

"Thanks." He said and paid more attention to where he was stepping.

"Can you just see through my eyes or all around me?" Harry asked Vidar.

"All around you when I am in your mind."

"Wow, that's pretty helpful." Harry said enthusiastically.

"Helpful? If you think I am going to watch out for you by looking at where you step and silly things like that, then you are gravely mistaken, child." Vidar said heatedly. "Consider that the first and last time. You'd better not grow dependable on me for being your eyes. I wouldn't warn you unless you are actually in danger. It would do you good to remember that."

"Fine fine. I'm sorry." Harry grumbled.

Harry arrived at the shop which sold trunks and other equipment. He bought himself an expensive trunk that had four compartments- a wardrobe, a bookshelf, a hidden compartment and finally, the main compartment for his other accessories and belongings. It also had a lock on it that required his touch along with a voice password to unlock.

When Harry exited the shop with his shrunken trunk in his pocket, he noticed something rather alarming. As he checked his Hogwarts list, he realised that the words were blurry. He looked away and again noticed that objects at the distance weren't clear.

"Oh no! I'm going to pass out due to exhaustion!" Harry whispered frantically.

"No you are not, you silly child." Vidar said with annoyance. "Remove your glasses."

Harry did as Vidar said and was relieved to find that his eyesight was back to normal but not perfect though.

"Now that the foreign soul piece is removed from you, your magic will once again focus on repairing the damages in your body. Witches and wizards do not require glasses but there are exceptions among a few adults nowadays." Vidar explained. "Your eyesight will be corrected over time."

Harry was beyond delighted at this. He always hated wearing glasses, broken or not. He thanked god for magic and went on with his shopping, carelessly tossing his glasses in a trash can.

Harry got his telescope from Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment and his potions ingredients and equipment from Slug and Jiggers Apothecary. He then went to Flourish & Blotts, where he bought his quills, parchments and course books along with books on wizarding politics, the rise and fall of dark arts, wizarding etiquette, a beginners guide to offensive and defensive magic, introduction to mind arts and several other important books that would help him integrate smoothly with the wizarding world. Although he had nearly a thousand years of knowledge in the form of Vidar with him, just like Vidar had said before, Harry did not want to become dependable on him.

Harry then entered Twilfitt and Tatting's where they thankfully had muggle clothing along with formal and casual wizarding outfits. He got himself several good quality shirts, hoodies, jeans, cotton pants, pyjamas and some inner wear. He got himself two pairs of sneakers and a pair of boots. He also bought some formal pants, a jacket and finally, a decent watch that was quite expensive but not too showy.

Harry finally collected his uniform. Thankfully, every shop owner agreed to unshrink and shrink his trunk to store his purchases. His final stop was Eeylops Owl Emporium. He was honestly very excited. He had never owned a pet before, besides the rats and spiders that shared his cupboard at the Dursley's. He eagerly went through the vast number of cages that housed different kinds of owls, kittens and toads. Several of them caught his eye but unfortunately, none of the animals seemed to like him. Harry grew more and more disheartened when none of the animals seemed to accept him. He was already gloomy that he couldn't buy a broom and this made him even more depressed. The shopkeeper advised against buying a pet that doesn't accept the owner and so Harry dejectedly left the shop, empty handed.

He checked his list one last time and threw it away in a nearby waste can.

"Wand it is then." He said to no one in particular and walked towards Ollivander's Wand shop. The shop was narrow and shabby, with a sign that read 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC' in peeling gold letters over the door. There was a window that displayed a single dusty wand which was rested on a cushion. Harry entered the shop which looked just as shabby as it was on the outside. A musty smell lingered in the air. There were a couple of spindly-legged chairs on one side of the room that looked like they would collapse as soon as someone sat on it. On the other side were hundreds of small narrow and dust covered boxed stacked all the way up to the ceiling. Harry walked towards the centre of the room, curiously examining the boxes.

"I was wondering when I would meet you Mr. Potter."

Harry jumped at the sudden intrusion to the silence and very nearly kicked the owner of the voice where the sun doesn't shine. He settled to glaring at him instead for startling him.

"You could've told me that this old man was creeping up on me." Harry told Vidar indignantly.

"And miss the fun of you jump two feet in the air? Not likely. Besides, I really wanted to see you kick him." Vidar said while chortling in Harry's mind. "I did warn you that you shouldn't rely on me all the time.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Harry groused. By this time, Harry was getting used to expressing emotion in his speech with Vidar and at the same time, keeping the same emotion from showing on his face. It was a tedious task but Vidar mentioned that it would be helpful in controlling emotions in general.

"I didn't mean to scare you Mr. Potter." The old man with pale eyes and while hair said. "My name is Ollivander.

Duh. Harry thought. He didn't even bother asking how Ollivander knew who he was. He did have a long day after all and was still quite a bit downtrodden after his visit to the pet shop.

"Well, Mr. Ollivander, I would like to get a wand." Harry said impatiently as the old man was just studying him.

"Yes yes. Let's find you a wand shall we?" He muttered and went over to grab a measuring tape.

Not again! Harry was in no mood to put up with an annoying measuring tape. When he noticed that this tape wasn't automated, he grew more annoyed that the creepy old man would be the one taking measurements.

"Now, which is your wand arm?" Ollivander asked.

Just as he was about to answer, Vidar interrupted him.

"Don't tell him that you are ambidextrous." He said quickly. "Just choose any one of your hands, it doesn't matter which one. It is a rather important skill and may save your life one day if you keep it a secret."

Harry faked a sneeze to cover for his sudden pause. It was pretty unconvincing but thankfully the old man fell for it.

"My apologies, my store is rather dusty." Ollivander said.

"Oh, it's alright. I'm left handed by the way." Harry replied.

Ollivander then took his measuring tape and much to Harry's discomfort, he proceeded to measure the length of Harry's forearm, fingers and weirdly, the space between his nostrils. Harry could almost guarantee that the old man made the last measurement just to rile Harry up even more.

Ollivander, who was murmuring to himself, shuffled over to the innumerable number of boxes and pulled one out. He then opened it and took a wand and gave it to Harry.

"Fourteen inches, Beechwood and Unicorn hair core. Give it a swish." He instructed.

Harry flicked his wand and one of the chairs crumbled into a pile of splintered wood.

"No no, that would not do." Ollivander said while shaking his head and quickly snatched the wand from Harry's hand.

Nearly an hour later, an immensely grumpy Harry found himself in a room that represented a post hurricane scene. All the chairs on the side of the room were destroyed, the shop counter was barely upright, the shelves containing the wands were broken down and there were wand boxes strewn all over the room. As Harry grew more and more irritated, Ollivander was the exact opposite. The old man almost seemed to enjoy handling such a tough customer. Seeing his excitement did not serve to alleviate Harry's apparent ill-temper. In fact, it was making it worse. Finally, Ollivander returned from behind his shelf for like the hundredth time in the past hour, holding an incredibly dust and old box. He carefully pulled out the wand and gave it to Harry.

"Eleven inches, Holly, Phoenix feather core, nice and supple. Give it a try." Ollivander almost whispered, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

As soon as Harry took the wand in his left hand, he felt a repulsive feeling wash over him. The wand started vibrating, as though it couldn't stand being in the presence of Harry. Suddenly, Harry's ring started glowing vibrantly, filling the dark room with blue light. The wand in Harry's hand seemed to be in pain and started smoking and finally turned into ash that slipped between Harry's fingers and flew into the air.

Both Harry and Ollivander stared where the wand was a few seconds ago, with wide eyes and confusion.

"Well, that was weird." Harry stated.

"Indeed. I was almost certain that it would be suitable for you Mr. Potter. Looks like I was mistaken." Ollivander said thoughtfully while looking at Harry's ring. Harry turned his hand to block the view of his ring.

"What was so special about that wand?" Harry asked.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold Mr. Potter. It so happens that the Phoenix, whose tail feather resided in the wand that you just destroyed, gave another feather." He paused dramatically and upon seeing Harry's bored expression, continued. "The brother of that wand is the one that gave you that scar." He said while pointing Harry's forehead.

How he was able to see the barely visible scar, Harry didn't know.

"Whatever, good riddance. Just show me the next wand." Harry said with frustration.

"Ah you see Mr. Potter, I'm afraid I do not have any other wands that would suit you. We have tried all that should've been suitable for you." Ollivander said. For the first time since Harry entered the shop, Ollivander actually looked worried and helpless.

Harry was just wondering if he would ever see a day where he actually didn't feel any disappointment. 'First a pet and now a wand as well? Seems like nothing wants me.' Harry mused miserably.

"I knew this would happen, child." Vidar said, breaking Harry out of his reverie.

"You did?"

"Yes. You need to understand that a wand is not the source of magic. The magic comes from inside you. A wand is simply an instrument that facilitates the release of magic from your core. During my period, we Vikings never used a wand. Why do you think we were nearly invincible during battles? Wizards and muggles alike were no match for us because we were able to use wandless magic along with our magic infused weapons."

"During the origin of magic, humans gifted with magic never required wands. They were well familiar with their cores and were able to control their magic. Over time, this control diminished and people found it too taxing to produce magic. This was when wands were created to help draw magic from the core easily. As centuries passed, wizards and witches grew dependant on wands and were nearly the equivalent of muggles without them. Some groups of people though, such as my Viking clan, never gave up using wandless magic. If anyone found it hard to draw their magic, they were trained extensively in various physical and mental aspects to help them view their own core and become acquainted with it. The wand wielders were simply too lazy to do this and that was why we were superior."

"Now that you have my core combined with yours, I'm confident that your wandless magic would be exceptional and you wouldn't need a wand." Vidar explained. "You should keep this skill a secret though. I'm sure we can find a stick that resembles a wand and fake it as though you are using it while performing magic. Just tell the old creep that your mother's wand that you found in a vault is suitable for you but you came here anyway in hopes of getting a new one for yourself."

Harry said the same to Ollivander. When the old man seemed like he wanted to protest, Harry quickly interrupted saying that it was getting late and hurried out of the store, leaving a confused Ollivander behind.

"Now that you are done with that, let's go back to Knockturn Alley. Vidar said. "A retired healer has a shop that sells healing potions there."

"Healing potions? I don't have any injuries." Harry said. At least not any that are lasting. He added mentally.

"Your magic may have healed the injuries you acquired during the past ten years to some extent but not flawlessly. The potions will do you good." Vidar said, almost snarling when he said injuries.

Harry accepted it and then retraced his steps back to Knockturn Alley. He really hoped that he wouldn't run into any other assaulters or even worse, a crime scene involving the person Harry had accidentally murdered. Thankfully nothing eventful occurred as Harry sneaked through the alley, trying his best to stick to the shadows and avoid everyone.

Harry walked into a dilapidated shop that only had a picture of a vial above the entrance. Inside, he was greeted by a grumpy old man. The room he entered looked a lot more neat and well-kept when compared to the shop's exterior. The old man wore clean blue robes and looked rather normal when compared to the other residents of Knockturn Alley.

"Whaddya want kid?" He asked gruffly.

"I need some healing potions." Harry said, not bothered by the old man's brashness and intimidating look. Harry wondered if he really was retired or kicked out because Harry was sure this was not how Doctors should act, not that he had any experience with them anyways.

"Ask for a full body check-up as well." Vidar added. Harry did as Vidar asked.

Without any warning, the old man whipped out his wand and started muttering a few words while waving it over Harry's body. Harry stiffened and almost went into a defensive position but stopped himself when he realised that the old man was just casting diagnostic spells, or so he hoped.

Once the healer was done, he pocketed his wand and sat down with a loud "Hmm."

"Well?" Harry asked nervously. The old man was looking at Harry inquisitively along with some confusion.

"Hmm, interesting indeed." Harry was getting annoyed by now and was about to retort but the healer continued. "To start with, there are no injuries on your body besides some minor ones. The diagnosis indicated that a tracking charm was placed on you."

"Probably Dumbledore's work." Vidar said.

"Wait, if he has a tracking charm on me, then how hasn't he found me yet? I'm sure Hagrid would've reported to him that I got lost in the floo." Harry asked.

"Yes but Dumbledore's tracking instrument is probably running rampant now because my presence will mask your location, rendering the tracking charm useless." Vidar said smugly. Harry mentally chuckled while picturing Dumbledore pulling his grey hair in frustration.

"The interesting part though is that you have the same amount of magic in your magical core when compared to other preteens."

"I don't see anything wrong with that." Harry said cautiously.

"What is wrong kid, is that my scan shows that you are magically exhausted."

"Well, there must be something wrong with your diagnostic spell then." Harry said apprehensively. He knew that his core was bigger than normal but luckily, the scan only showed the amount of magic rather than the core's size. He really didn't want the creepy old man to find out that he had a massive core and the reason behind it.

"My spells are never wrong, kid." The old man snapped. "No child like you can cast enough spells to lead to magical exhaustion. Say, were you placed in any wards?"

"Umm wards? Maybe." Harry said evasively. "Why do you ask?"

"There are certain wards that drain the magic of someone to stay effective. If the person stays inside the ward, his or her magic will feed to the wards strength. Blood wards are an example." He answered. "But this still doesn't explain how your magic level is normal despite being magically exhausted."

Harry was mentally fuming and trying his best to hide his anger from showing on his face. 'Just another reason to kill Dumbledore and not to return to the Dursley's' Harry thought.

"Can you just remove the tracking charms?" Harry asked.

"Of course I can." The ex-healer scoffed and waved his wand once over Harry and declared it was done.

Harry quickly bought some healing potions for his minor injuries and paid the ex-healer for his services and departed, all the while avoiding discussing about his core and denying further tests.

"Back to Axel Manor now. We will be living there until we leave for Hogwarts." Vidar said.

"No offence to you Vidar, but your manor didn't really look habitable." Harry said.

"We can easily fix that. Don't worry about it." Vidar replied. Harry trusted Vidar enough to not bother asking how. Besides, any place would be better than the cupboard he was accustomed to.

While Harry was walking through the heart of Knockturn Alley, a shop caught his eye. It was small and shabby just like all other shops but it was the sign above the door that made him stop and look at it with a hopeful expression. The sign read 'Magical Menagerie.' Harry peeked through the window and noticed that the shop's interior looked similar to Eeylops Owl Emporium with rows of cages with different kinds of animals. As he entered the shop, Harry observed that there were many different kinds of animals besides owls, cats and toads. There were hamsters, snakes, falcons and even fish tanks containing dangerous looking creatures.

"How may I help you?" The shopkeeper who had an unnaturally pale face with long black hair asked. When he spoke, Harry was sure he noticed abnormally sharp canines but he ignored it as his attention was on the animals.

"Oh, I'm just looking for a pet to purchase." Harry said waving the shopkeeper off. "I'll let you know if any catches my interest." He said and proceeded to peruse the various kinds of animals, hoping he would leave the shop with a pet this time.

Harry didn't even bother going near the snakes located at the far end of the shop as he knew they weren't allowed at Hogwarts. As he walked past the last few cages, Harry's eyes found a dark corner of the shop where a couple of eggs of various sizes and colours were placed on some hay. He could feel the heat emanating from the corner. When Harry went for a closer look, one particular egg caught his attention. Unlike the other eggs, this one appeared to have a shell made of pure silver. The egg was a little bigger than the size of Harry's fist and its smooth silver surface was gleaming.

"Ah, a rather unique looking egg don't you think?" The shopkeeper said, who had somehow crept up on Harry.

"What kind of an egg is it?" Harry asked curiously. He didn't know why but he felt an urge to buy it. It almost felt as though the egg… called for Harry.

"Truthfully, I do not know. All I know is that the shell is made of pure silver. I'm not really an expert on eggs and I never cared enough to look it up. I only got it two days ago from someone who was in urgent need of money." The shopkeeper said with a smooth voice.

"How much for it?" Harry asked, getting straight into business.

"Five hundred galleons." The pale-faced man answered.

Harry didn't know how much silver was actually worth and honestly, he didn't care. He felt elated that he was getting a pet… well, sort of. Whatever came out of that egg, Harry somehow knew it would be his perfect pet. At the moment of excitement, he forgot that whatever the creature was, it wasn't an owl, cat or toad and wouldn't be permitted as a pet in Hogwarts.

Harry paid the shopkeeper and carefully placed the egg, along with the box that he got with it, in his unshrunk trunk. He left the shop, delighted that the day had turned out better for him in the end.

When Harry finally reached Axel Manor, the sky was red and the sun was setting on the horizon. As he opened the gate, he noted that there was a weird emblem on the gate that he had missed before. There was a triangle with a circle inside it and a line cutting across in vertically, dividing the circle and triangle in half.

"Is that your family crest?" Harry questioned Vidar.

"It's the Peverell crest. It also denotes the deathly hallows." Harry remembered Vidar mentioning about them when he was explaining about Harry's ancestry. "The triangle is the invisibility cloak, the circle is the resurrection stone and the line is the elder wand."

"What's so special about them?" Harry asked.

"Invisibility cloaks are common in the magical world but this particular cloak, which was enchanted by Ignotus, never loses its ability. It also hides the magical signature of those who wear it and revealing charms do not work on it. The resurrection stone allows the user to speak with the spirit of a deceased person. The elder wand is said to be the most powerful wand ever made, allowing the wielder to perform great feats of magic." Vidar expounded.

"What happened to them?" Harry asked. He really liked the idea of an invisibility cloak and at hearing about the stone, the only thing he could think about was getting a chance to actually speak with his parents. Since he didn't have a wand, Harry wondered if the elder wand would be suitable for him.

"Unfortunately, I do not know. The wand was passed on to several owners but all of them died tragic deaths. I deduced that only a true Peverell could wield it effectively. Over time, I lost track of who owned it. The stone was nearly impossible to find as well. The cloak was last known to be in the possession of your father." Vidar said contritely.

"Wait, if this manor was built by you, how did this symbol get here? Weren't the Peverell brothers long past your time?" Harry asked with bemusement.

"True but I was not the one who added that symbol here. Ignotus was one of my descendants who found my Manor even while it was invisible. He did not take my ring though. He was the one who added his house crest on the gate." Vidar replied.

Harry nodded and pushed past the gates and walked into the manor. "What do I do now?"

"Place your left hand on the pedestal you took the ring from." Vidar instructed.

Harry entered the manor just as he had the day before- by placing his hand on the door and after a small prick on his finger, the door opened. He stood before the pedestal, pushed the cushion away and placed his left hand on the smooth wooden surface.

His ring started glowing brighter than it did before and after a couple of seconds, Harry felt the ground vibrating under his feet. Rough grinding sounds came from under the pedestal as though stone bricks were scraping against each other. Suddenly, the pedestal sunk into the floor and in its place was a square shaped hole. Slowly the hole widened big enough to fit a full grown man.

Harry peered down the hole and all he could see was darkness. There were ridges along one side of the surface that led down into the deep hole. The ridges resembled the steps of a ladder and Harry took this as a hint and started carefully climbing down.

When his feet finally touched the ground, Harry found himself in a small and empty room. The floor was caked with so much dust that it gave him the feel of walking on snow. The only interesting thing in the room was a diamond-shaped stone which was placed in a rectangular depression that was made on one of the walls.

The stone was red in colour and translucent. When Harry looked closely, he observed that there were countless inscriptions on its surface. The stone was radiating a soft red light that illuminated nearly half of the room.

"That is the ward stone. It has lost its power over the centuries. To restore it, you need to thrust your magic into it. Since using such wandless magic is new for you, just smear some of your blood on it and imagine your magic flowing through your hands and into the stone." Vidar said.

A knife appeared out of nowhere and Harry did as Vidar instructed. After placing his bleeding palm on the stone, he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. He imagined a ball of light as his core and willed the magic to pass from it, through his hand and into the stone.

Harry was brought out of his meditative state when he felt the stone pulsing with energy. He opened his eyes only to close it again when he was nearly blinded by the red light emitted from the stone.

Suddenly, the room started shaking violently and Harry roughly fell on his bum.

"What the hell is happening?!" Harry shouted out loud as he heard walls crumble and metal crash against stone. Harry actually thought he was caught in an earthquake or an airstrike. He closed his eyes and curled up on the floor as he heard his surrounding get wrecked.

Finally, after about five minutes, the noise of destruction subsided and Harry opened his eyes, expecting to find himself in a ruined room but was stunned when he saw that the room was undestroyed. In fact, it was far better than it was before. There were floating spheres of light in the ceiling and there were no signs of the previous dust on the floor. The worn out walls looked good as new. The ward stone was looking healthy, silently throbbing with power. Harry climbed back up the hole and was astonished when he looked around the main hall of the manor.

"What the hell?" Harry whispered aloud. He was pleasantly surprised to find that just like the ward stone room, the entire manor had renovated itself. There wasn't a speck of dirt on any part of the manor, the previously cracked walls with peeling paint were restored to its former glory with not a single crack or blemish on them. The broken down staircase was also good as new, made of polished marble. There were candle chandeliers on the ceiling that bathed the entire hall in bright light. Harry looked back at the entrance hall and noticed that the suits of armour were sparkly clean as though they were just polished. The doors looked like they were repainted and revamped.

"How?" Harry asked, wonderment evident in his tone.

"Impressive magic isn't it? Restoring the ward stone's magic repaired all of the manor's faults, appearance wise and protection wise. The wards were restored as well and the manor is once again invisible to common eyes. The ward stone's power will last for at least half a dozen more centuries before it would require a refill of magic." Vidar said proudly. "You have control over the wards and only those you allow can enter this manor. I will teach you how to control and access it later. Before you ask, the ward doesn't drain your magic like blood wards though, so don't worry." He added.

When Harry was about to reply, he was interrupted by a sudden pop sound. He turned around and met a strange looking creature. It was about two and a half feet tall with spindly arms and legs and oversized heads and eyes. It was wearing some sort of uniform with the Peverell symbol on the chest. The creature looked at Harry with wide, happy eyes and a large grin.

"Master Peverell is back!" It squeaked with a high feminine voice.

"Wha- Who are you?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I is Tinky, sir. Tinky being working in Avebury Manor in Austria when I felt Axel Manor's wards come back up. Master Peverell is finally back." Tinky squealed happily.

"What even is that?" Harry asked.

"It's a house elf. Very trustworthy beings who do household work to the families they are bound to. They love working and require a bond with a family to survive. The magic from the bond keeps them alive. The house elves that are bound are obligated to answer to their master and remain loyal to them no matter the circumstance. They can enter the wards of the buildings that are owned by the family they are bound to without any permission unless the master states otherwise." Vidar explained.

"Why is the Axel manor a Peverell property?" Harry questioned.

"Ignotus found it remember, the manor accepted him and thus became his property." Vidar said in a matter of fact tone.

"Right." Harry knelt down beside Tinky. "Are there other elves to take care of Avebury Manor, Tinky?" He asked.

"Yes, Master Peverell." She said while bobbing her head up and down, her bat-like pointed ears flapping around.

"Well, would you like to stay here in Axel Manor then?" Harry asked hopefully. "Oh, and please, just call me Harry, it would do."

Tinky looked like she was about to burst into tears of happiness. "Mas- Harry is not needing to ask." She squeaked. "Tinky will stay and help Harry." She said, looking like she was holding back herself from hugging Harry. She did lose restraint though when Harry gratefully thanked her.

Tinky then pulled Harry along with her on a tour around the manor. First, they went outside where she showed him around the garden behind the manor. The overgrown flora was reduced to freshly mown grass. The fence around the manor looked like it was just repainted. There was also an empty animal pen beside the garden.

Back in the main hall, Harry learnt that the two rooms to his left were the kitchen and dining hall. The two doors to his right led to a sitting room and a ballroom. The entire manor was not furnished but Tinky ensured that she would get new furniture before it was time to sleep. Apparently, she could access the Peverell vaults for any funds required.

In the second floor, there was a potions lab, an armoury with various types of weapons and armour, a study, a master bedroom which was barren as well, a massive library filled with old tomes and yellowing parchments filled with handwritten notes and finally a training room- here, Harry asked Tinky to get muggle exercise equipment. The third floor had a couple of guest bedrooms and that was pretty much it.

Tinky disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a couple more elves who were floating a massive dining table and placed it in the dining hall. The table could seat nearly thirty people. She then pulled Harry to the head table and served him what was probably the best dinner he had had in his entire life. Harry enthusiastically dug into his roast lamb, Yorkshire pudding and mashed potatoes, all the while praising a beaming Tinky and maintaining the table manners that Vidar was teaching him.

After finishing his dessert, Harry retired to his bedroom where he found a queen sized bed with cloud-like pillows and a quilt. There was also a side table. The elves had added some furniture and toiletries while Harry was having dinner. Tinky unshrunk his trunk and placed it beside his bed. Vidar said he would start teaching him to use magic starting from the next morning. Harry took a bath and brushed his teeth in his grand bathroom and then sat down on his bed, dressed in his brand new pyjamas, after asking Tinky to take a rest. He left his egg in the secret compartment of his trunk as it was considerably warm in there.

"So… you don't expect me to wear the ring while sleeping do you?" Harry asked Vidar.

Thankfully, he had remembered to remove it when he used the bathroom earlier. Vidar had assured him that when he wasn't wearing the ring, he would dissolve into nothingness and wouldn't be able to see or hear anything. Apparently this was a new development in Vidar after merging his core with Harry's. Before Harry put on the ring, Vidar was able to freely roam in his wraith form if he was strong enough, but once his core was combined with Harry's, that wasn't the case anymore. He was only given that freedom when Harry was wearing the ring. He had expected himself to become just a powerless ghost if Harry wasn't wearing the ring but it was worse. Vidar had his consciousness or whatever it was that wraiths had but he would be lost in a realm of emptiness with nothing but his own thoughts.

Harry felt bad rendering Vidar to such nothingness and so, he promised to himself that he would wear the ring most of the time but he thought it was quite weird having Vidar in his head while asleep, dreaming about god knows what.

"Well, I won't be able to see your dreams if that is what you are worried about." Vidar replied, his tone not showing whether he wanted Harry to wear or not to wear the ring.

"Oh… okay, well… urm, is it too unbearable when I re-" Harry started nervously. After all that Vidar had done for Harry, he really didn't want to leave him in oblivion for so many hours.

"Don't worry child, it is rather peaceful." Vidar interrupted. "Just keep the ring safe. Even though nobody besides you can wear it, someone can still take it when you are not wearing it." He warned. According to him, nobody can forcefully remove the ring while Harry was wearing it, unless the finger was chopped off of course.

"Goodnight Vidar and… thanks for everything." Harry said softly and removed the ring and placed it in the secret compartment in his trunk.

He laid down in bed, thinking about all the events that had transpired in the past two days. He arranged all the memories in his mind and for the first time in his life, he fell into a comfortable and blissful sleep.

Albus Dumbledore was seated on the edge this throne-like chair in the headmaster's office, both his elbows placed on his desk and head rested on his palms. His half-moon spectacles were rested on the end of his nose, barely held in place.

He gave out a loud sigh and sunk back into his chair, his wizened old hand snatching a lemon drop on his way. He recalled the events that had occurred the day before and almost reluctantly dragged his eyes over to the various gadgets on the far end of his massive desk. Just about two days ago, the gadgets were working perfectly, occasionally puffing out smoke and making soothing sounds that comforted him, always reassuring that his most important asset was safe.

It all came crashing down before him, however, starting from when Hagrid informed him that he'd lost Harry Potter, the Boy-who-lived in the floo because of a cat. He mentally cursed Mrs. Figg and her darned cats.

When Dumbledore had heard of this, he immediately flooed over to Mrs. Figg's house. Apparently Hagrid had seen it fit to search for Harry himself rather than informing him and only accepted defeat when the sun started to set. He hastily asked Figg what happened and left the house, nearly kicking one of the cats in the way of the front door. He had cast a disillusionment charm on himself and sneaked into the Dursley household and searched the entire house stealthily, starting with the cupboard. He more or less knew how Harry was treated at the Dursley's but it was a necessary sacrifice on Harry's part for the greater good.

After finding no signs of Harry, Dumbledore quickly apparated back to his office, his mind set on using his tracking instrument. He patted himself on the back for having the forethought to cast a tracking charm on baby Harry in case such incidents occurred.

He waved his wand over the gadget and it vibrated lightly and a wisp of smoke was ejected from its top. The smoke slowly took the shape of the map of Diagon Alley, including Knockturn Alley as well. Dumbledore watched with anticipation as the map became smaller and smaller, zeroing in on Knockturn Alley but before the exact location could be determined, the smoke dissipated and the instrument exploded right in front of him, leaving black soot on his pale wrinkly face and white beard.

Almost immediately, two of his three other instruments exploded as well. The two kept track of Harry's magical core and health. Dumbledore went through great difficulties making these two instruments as he had to cast a charm that constantly diagnosed the core and health. To make this charm effective, he had to cast it directly on Harry's magical core.

Dumbledore panicked, fearing the worst. He had a lot of things to accomplish with Harry and losing him so soon would disrupt all of his plans. He calmed down though when he realised that the third gadget was still functioning. This gadget informed him of the strength of the blood ward at the Dursley's and if Harry had died, then the wards would have collapsed as well as it fed on Harry's magic.

Dumbledore then decided to search for Harry in Knockturn Alley the next day but he was occupied at the Ministry until noon. As soon as he was done at the Ministry, he had rushed over to Knockturn Alley and searched everywhere possible but was unsuccessful. Finally, around four hours later, he gave up and returned to his office for the staff meeting that was scheduled to take place in ten minutes. The meeting went on for a couple of hours and when it was over, Dumbledore found himself seated in his chair, relying on the lemon drops to soothe his raging headache.

One question kept running around his mind.

Where the hell is Harry Potter?

The night of August 1st found Daphne settled on the same window sill, her back rested against the wall, eyes unfocused while gazing at the vast grounds of Greengrass Manor.

Daphne dreaded the Gringotts visit with her father for a long time and the day had finally arrived but she wasn't certain what to think of the result of the visit.

Her father had spent a lot of time searching the pureblood heir archives but thankfully for Daphne, he couldn't find a suitable heir. There were plenty of heirs of her age but Cyrus didn't find any to his liking. Cyrus Greengrass may be an arrogant individual and an uncaring father but he was an excellent politician. He was the leader of the grey faction in the Wizengamot and knew that constructing a marriage contract with members of the light or dark faction would mean that he was aligning with them.

Cyrus was also on speaking terms with nearly everyone in the Wizengamot, whether light or dark. Malfoy heir was a perfect suitor but unfortunately, Lucius was an important member of the dark faction. Crabbe and Goyle were purebloods that didn't have Wizengamot seats but Cyrus knew they were inbred and hardly had any brain cells. Similarly, Nott belonged to the dark faction and Longbottom to the light faction. Potter was nearly perfect since his family was sacred and he had plenty of wealth and fame but he was a halfblood and would probably be within Dumbledore's clutches. Dumbledore and Cyrus never saw eye to eye. When the war was over, Dumbledore went into great lengths to claim that Cyrus was a Death Eater but never had enough proof to take any action.

The Macmillans belonged to the grey faction but Cyrus knew that they didn't believe in marriage contracts. There were other potential suitors that didn't have a Wizengamot seat, such as Goldstein but just like Macmillan, they didn't accept marriage contracts. Finally, Cyrus had given up for the moment and decided to directly speak with a couple of purebloods with older or younger heirs. Daphne knew she wasn't out of this forced marriage inconvenience yet and probably never would be but she at least had a breather for the moment.

Daphne's narrow escape from essentially being signed off to some snobby pureblood was not the only significant incident that had transpired this afternoon though. She had surprisingly met none other than the famed Harry Potter.

She side-along apparated with her father outside Gringotts exactly at noon. With hardly a glance if Daphne was with him, Cyrus briskly walked up the entrance of Gringotts, shooting a dirty look at the goblin guards who gladly returned it. He then marched up to the closest goblin teller who was clearly occupied. That was when things got interesting for Daphne.

Cyrus had decided that the boy who was speaking with the nearest teller wasn't worth the effort to move just a few steps further to another teller and so he vulgarly pushed the boy out of the way and pretty much spoke to the goblin teller as though the goblin was a house elf.

The boy called her father a bastard under his breath but Daphne's sharp ears had heard it anyways. She wholeheartedly agreed with the boy's comment and almost felt bad that she almost smiled outright… almost.

What occurred next was probably the most entertaining event that she had witnessed in a long time. The teller completely ignored her father and started continuing his conversation with the boy who happened to be Harry Potter. Potter, who had quickly caught on that the teller was going to ignore her father, resumed conversing with the goblin, albeit a lot more cordially. She knew that Potter and the goblin were doing it on purpose and she had to give Potter some credit. Cyrus presented an intimidating figure and when he was angry, even Daphne would cower in fear but even when her father was visibly fuming, Potter didn't even spare him a glance and just continued smiling while talking to the goblin.

Daphne half expected her father to pull out his wand and hex Potter into the next century but somehow reigned in his temper and decided to go to another teller instead. He wouldn't be the epitome of Slytherin if he had done something impulsive like that. She knew that it was a rather massive blow to her father's pride, being ignored like as though he was nobody by a goblin and an eleven year old.

Daphne found her thoughts wandering back to Potter. When she had first laid eyes on him, she thought he was a twelve or thirteen years old. When she learnt that he was Potter, she was intrigued. He was not what she had expected the Boy-who-lived to look or act like. He was dressed in dirty muggle clothes and donned a broken pair of glasses. He was pretty tall and had a rugged look but for a person as rich as him, he was dressed more like a beggar. When her father had treated him as such, she expected Potter to react rashly but instead, he played her father quite well.

Daphne didn't know what to think of him and he effectively put her mind out of commission when he smiled at her before leaving further into the bank. All she could do was nod at him after she regained her bearings. Nobody had acknowledged her like that before, definitely no one that was just insulted by her father right in front of her. Other boys stayed away from her for the most part in the handful of balls she was forced to attend with her father. One look at her cold eyes would make boys scamper away from her. This was why Potter had surprised her.

Harry Potter was an interesting person indeed.

A/N: I hope you guys liked the chapter, I know some of you asked for long chapters… I hope I didn't overdo it with nearly 20k words. I would've updated nearly a week ago if I hadn't lost my half completed document.

Before you guys ask, just for clarification, Dumble's two other gadgets were also destroyed because the charm was done on Harry's core and when the core was modified, the charm was removed. Also, when he was searching for Harry in Knockturn, Harry was in Gringotts. Any guesses what egg that is?

I also wanted to thank all of you guys for the support and reviews, it really makes my day. Please read and review, thanks.

Next chapter, Hogwarts express and sorting.