[AN] I don't own Sailor Moon or Harry Potter

A Crossing of Paths: When Angels Conspire

Chapter Thirteen: Of Dioramas and Denotations

Executive Office Hallway

Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Diagon Alley, London

Ragnok led them down the long ornate hallways of the executive section of the bank. Turning this way and that. It didn't take long for Harry and his companions to get completely lost, but luckily the goblins leading them seemed to be unconcerned. Before long they reached a large metal door that, when opened by yet another set of scary looking guards, revealed a much nicer, and safer looking, cart that they assumed would lead them down into the vaults. Ragnok dismissed their armed guards at this point, as they wouldn't be needed any further. The four of them entered the cart and when they had situated themselves the cart proceeded to drive itself down the tracks. Harry noted that this was a rather more comfortable ride than the customer's cart they had ridden in earlier. They traveled in silence for a time as they cart led downward into the earth. After a time they seemed to reach the bottom of the maze of tunnels as the track seemed to level out.

At the end of the tunnel, they entered into a much larger dome shaped room with vault doors evenly spaced all along the walls. The cart came to a stop at a sort of platform in the middle of the room. Of to the side of one of the vaults were a small number of goblins who seemed to be hurriedly finishing setting up various tables and chairs and different strange looking apparatus. When their contingent finally reached what looked to be where they were to perform the blood magic ritual, the lead worker came up to Ragnok and they began a hushed conversation in gobbledegook. While they conversed Harry began to try and decipher the various rune arrays that had been drawn on the floor in the middle of their impromptu get together. At the same time Remus seemed to be occupied trying to see what was going on down a nearby tunnel that seemed to lead to another chamber. He figured that there must be a dragon through there, judging by the flashes of fire and the faint noise of goblins attempting to wrangle a large animal. His concerns were lessened as the noise seemed to get further away and the light fainter and less frequent. McGonagall seemed content to stare straight ahead and try to pretend that they weren't about to play around with a branch of magic she'd always been taught was borderline dark.

When Ragnok and the other goblin had finished their conversation the worker said something to the other goblins and they all made their way out of the chamber. As they left through yet another tunnel they were met by two other goblins heading the other direction. Harry recognized one of them as Griphook who seemed to be carrying a small ornate wooden box in front of him. The other goblin seemed to be much older judging by the various scars on his face, his uneven gait and walking stick. He was also carrying a larger wooden box. Griphook greeted them with a nod as the older goblin gave them a curious look as he set his burden on one of the small tables that were scattered around them.

"This is Master Zux." Ragnok explained to them. "He will be the one performing the Ritual today." They all nodded hello to the old goblin. Which he gruffly returned.

"Director." He greeted no more cordially.

"Master Zux, If you would be so kind as to proceed as normal, You can get back to your regular duties as soon as you are done here." Ragnok said quickly. Zux eyed him curiously for a moment.

"Very well." He answered before turning to Harry and his group. "I must say, I have been involved in a fair few blood magic refreshers in my day, as well as a number of Ministry Demonstrations. But this is the first time I can recall both at once." He stated conspiratorially. "Although you don't get to be my age by asking too many questions, so as it is not required for me to know which of you three is from the Department of Hereditary Affairs, which is a Master Alchemist, and which is an ambassador of the International Confederation of Wizards, I will defer those technicalities to the Director. I also do not feel the need to mention that this is the first time either procedure has taken place down here in the vaults, where an actual ceremony would be performed, as opposed to the offices above, where demonstrations are held. I will merely do my business and leave as was requested."

"The room is yours Master Zux." Ragnok said with a nod.

"Indeed. First I'm going to need either a subject for a genuine ceremony, or a volunteer for a training exercise." He looked towards them, being intentionally double-sided.

"I believe this gentleman will suffice." Ragnok said pushing Harry forward gently, then ushering the two adults, plus Griphook, over to the side of the room.

"Of course. If you'll have a seat please." He waved towards one of the chairs within the circle of runes. They began to glow slightly when he passed their threshold. "I do hope that whatever accident that caused you to appear to be a mere child doesn't have an effect on the ceremony." He commented offhandedly as he stood behind the main chair and began to dig through the large wooden box he had brought with him.

"Err… Me too?" Harry said with a shrug sitting in what looked like a modified barber's chair. It had several painful looking restraints where a person's wrists, ankles, and neck were obviously supposed to go. Harry hoped that they were mostly for show. After a moment, Zux seemed to find what he was digging for and leaned over the shoulder of the chair to speak to him.

"Which is your wand arm?" he asked. Harry held up his right hand confusedly. Zux merely nodded. He scooted the spindly table with the box atop it over to Harry's Left side. He tried to see what was in it, but the lid was in the way. Zux then dragged one of the other chairs over to that side right next to the table. From within it he withdrew a large golden bowl with runes etched in between the precious stones that were inlaid around the rim. In the same motion, he sat in the chair and placed the bowl on the floor between his feet. Then he looked up and re-adjusted the chair and the bowl a little bit until he deemed the positioning correct.

He withdrew some odd looking spectacles from the box and put them on his scarred up goblin nose. They looked to have several different colored lenses that began to move about on their own when he got them situated. There was also a small arm that came off of the side of the frame that began to shine a bright beam of light. He did what looked like a quick systems check, and being satisfied he looked Harry in the eye, the light blinding him a little.

"Right then… Arm." He stuck his hand out prompting Harry to reluctantly relinquish his appendage. The goblin was firm but not forceful as he gripped Harry's wrist and rested the elbow on the armrest with the hand out towards him. He opened Harry's hand and began to examine his palm and speak in a low gravelly voice. "Interesting field, Palmistry. You can tell a lot about a person from their hands." He said as he gently moved Harry's fingers this way and that, to see the different creases in the palm. The different lenses moving deliberately in and out of his field of vision. "This one is called the heart line." He traced a crease "Deals with love, and affection, and emotions and other such… and this one is the head line, Intelligence, learning, knowledge… and this is the life line. Vitality, health and general well-being. It is also used to ascertain magical potential. This is the one we're concerned with today." He said a little louder before looking back up at Harry, blinding him again.

"That's all very interesting but…HEY! WHAT DO YOU..AARRGGG!" he yelped before clamping his mouth shut and writhing in pain. With what could only be years of practice, in one swift continuous motion, Zux had forced Harry's arm into the bottom half of the restraint and clamped the top half down on top of it, then with his free hand he quickly drew a shiny silver dagger from the box and slammed it up to the hilt through Harry's palm, using his other hand to facilitate the stabbing action as the hand was suspended in mid air. All without looking away from his face. Obviously using the blinding light to his advantage. Harry strained against the restraints in silent agony.

Remus took a step towards them, and McGonagall cringed. Ragnok stopped Remus's intervention and made a gesture that it was okay. Remus huffed and crossed his arms angrily and resumed his observation.

"Oh, Quit your dancing. It's not that bad." Zux scoffed as he held the upper part of the arm still. Watching the blood run down a channel in the blade that must have been made specifically for this task. Blood began to drip off the very tip and into the bowl in a uniform fashion.

As soon as he spoke, Harry stopped squirming and realized that he was right. It didn't hurt much anymore. In fact he could hardly feel it at all. He wearily opened his eyes and looked down at the knife handle protruding from his palm, exactly along his life-line.

"It's bewitched." He said somewhat surprised.

"Of course it is. You don't think all those pansy nobles would just line up for a good stabbing, now do you?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "I remember the old days, when we used real knives. Watching those aristocrats get down off of their high-horse just so Ol' Zux can make em squirm when he runs 'em through with his blade. Can't tell you how much I miss it." He growled with a toothy grin as he observed the blood fill the bowl.

When it must have gotten full enough he gently grabbed the knife handle again and looked up.

"That should do it. On the count of three… Ready?" he asked. Harry braced himself mentally and physically, then nodded stiffly. Zux re-affirmed his grip.

"Right…One…" he said before pulling the knife up sharply causing Harry to Yelp once more. Though he opened his eyes within a few seconds and Zux released his wrist. He examined it closely to find that there wasn't a gaping wound, just an angry red blotch where moments before a razor sharp blade had been stuck.

"You said on the count of three!" Harry half-yelled.

"I'm a goblin. Call it a pre-emptive strike."

"Why does everyone always do that to me?" Harry asked in frustration. Zux simply grinned as he took the bowl carefully over to one of the elaborate looking apparatuses.

It looked like a narrow table which it was designed to hold the bowl in the middle of it. To either side of it there were long crystal antenna looking pieces that jutted out at an angle. They pointed up to some giant silver pylons that had been placed to either side of the table. Harry thought they sort of resembled pictures he'd seen in his schoolbooks. Tesla coils he thought they were called, though he doubted that these worked quite the same as the muggle version. Zux placed the bowl down in an indentation that must have been custom fitted, and used some small struts to clamp it down tightly. Behind it there was a small square plinth with a tiny crystal knob atop it, the purpose of which Harry couldn't figure out at the moment.

"Well, that concludes the demonstration." Zux said simply.

"That's it?" Harry asked.

"That's where the demonstration stops. Yes. If this were a real ceremony, I would now place the prospective family's signet ring on the plinth there behind the basin, then I would begin a chant that would charge the runic array and channel a large amount of transverse alchemical magic into the pylons and through the basin. Then the latent magic within the blood would commune with both the magic of the ring, and the ethereal essence of he who allegedly bequeathed ownership of said ring. If the blood is deemed to be genuine, the ring would then accept the donor as its rightful owner. Thereby granting access to all the rights and responsibilities thereof." He explained.

"And if it is deemed to be a false claim?" McGonagall queried.

"The magic rebounds upon the would-be thief. Sadly, we have been mandated by law to install dampeners, so it is no longer considered lethal. but I'm told that some unfortunate souls never really walk right again." He smirked again, giving all the non-goblins a shiver.

"Very well Master Zux. That was quite satisfactory. I will see to it that your instruments are properly cleaned and returned to you. I'm sure you have other matters that we have so rudely pulled you away from." Ragnok said with thinly veiled authority as he entered the circle.

"Yes, Director. I believe I do. I'm sure that these delegates will have further matters to discuss, but they can rest assured that you may take it from here as well as I could." He grinned mischievously before nodding his farewell and sweeping away without another word.

"Now then… Griphook. The box." He said when he was sure it was just the five of them. He held out his hand, took the small wooden box, and opened it gingerly. From within he withdrew a very ornate looking ring and placed it on the plinth before handing the box back to Griphook. From this distance Harry couldn't see much detail of the ring, but it was clearly precious.

Ragnok then stood in the very center of the rune array and began a chant in Gobbledegook. The Runic glow beginning to intensify, emitting a low hum. Soon the room was so flooded with light, they all had to shield their eyes, and when the hum reached its apex, suddenly everything stopped.

When they opened their eyes there was a soft glow coming from the basin. Wafting lazily between the bowl and the ring and back again. It did this for several moments before flaring slightly before fizzling out and disappearing completely. There was complete silence there in the dark for a beat.

"Hmm…" Lupin intoned scant seconds before a loud whooshing noise came from the bowl as narrow beams of multi-colored light blasted downward out of the gems embedded in its rim. The beams must have had some force behind them as the clamps holding the bowl down strained against the upward thrust. Then the room was lit up again as the contents of the bowl burned violently, giving off a bright red phosphorescent light and sending a plume of black smoke mushrooming towards the ceiling to mix with the thin white wisps of smoke that were now rising from the remnants of the runic array which had nearly dissolved.

"Congratulations Harry. It seems your magic has been accepted. Now let us get back to business." Said Ragnok as he quickly removed the ring and placed it into Griphook's waiting box. As soon as he had done so, Griphook turned on his heel and hastily vacated the room.

"Where's he going?" McGonagall asked, obviously thinking that he should have presented Harry with the ring.

"He will return the rings to the heirloom vault."

"Shouldn't I get them?" Harry asked.

"No. not until you accept your position as Lord Potter. It's part of Ministerial Law I'm afraid. But wizards get too hung up on their jewelry. As long as you are recognized by the family magic, we can access some of your holdings. Even if we aren't 'technically' supposed to." Ragnok explained.

"Sooo…Where to first?" asked Remus.

"Let's try the family vault. It's the most logical place to look. After all, it was the first place you looked wasn't it?" said Harry. Ragnok nodded.

"Indeed. Which is why we are in this particular section of the bank. Over here is vault number 18, The Potter Family Main Vault." He explained as they approached one of the large vault doors along the side of the room.

He placed one of his long goblin hands on the door in a spot that looked like it was designated for such a thing. There was an identical spot on the other side of the door which he motioned harry towards. Once he realized what was going on, Harry strode right up to the door and put his hand on the vacant spot. As soon as he did so, there was a loud grating noise from within the vault accompanied by several clanks of varying volume. Eventually the gears wound to a halt and the door began to creak it's way open.

The inside was pitch black, but as soon as Harry stepped one foot inside, several torches along the walls began to light themselves. The room was immense. At least three times the size of his other vault. Instead of the mountains of coins he saw in his trust vault, all the coins in here seemed to be galleons. There was a small section containing silver sickles and bronze knuts. But there didn't seem to be more than a handful of either. The coins were also stacked correctly and packaged so there were only so many to a box and so many to a crate. He guessed 1,000 in a box, and 10 boxes in a crate. And there were a large number of crates stacked up to the ceilings of the place. It seemed only one crate was broken open at a time. He supposed it was a pretty good practice to make the best use of space.

It wasn't all gold in the room though. There was a section with old trunks and books and assorted knick knacks. Things that probably weren't valuable enough to be in the heirloom vault he guessed. In one of the corners it looked like someone had fashioned a sort of office space. There was a desk and a chair. A lamp and a hat rack, and some shelves with various parchments and what not on them. There on the desk was an envelope that said simply:

'Last Will and Testament of James and Lily Potter'

Harry recognized his mother's handwriting and picked up the envelope. He took one last look around the vault and made a note to come back and have a more thorough look some other time. As he exited the vault he idly wondered why no one came in with him. The door clanked shut behind him as he climbed out.

"Got it." He held up the envelope. "Why didn't you guys come in with me?" he asked curiously.

"One of the protections on the vault is that no one other than the Lord and Lady Potter may access it without your permission. Unless of course there are extenuating circumstances such as the director needing to get in there to retrieve a document. And then only if there is no acting head." Ragnok explained.

"Oh. I didn't realize." He said.

"Not to mention; it is also considered quite rude to enter another wizard's vault." Lupin added. Harry nodded and filed that information away.

"I suggest we re-convene in my office for the pre-reading of the will." Ragnok said.

~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~

When they'd all retaken their seats in Ragnok's lavish office and he'd ordered them all some refreshments they got down to the reason they'd even come here in the first place this morning. The will.

"Harry, the envelope if you please." He asked. Harry handed it to him. He broke the seal and removed several pages and began to read them.

' The documents herein are one of several copies of the Last will and Testament of James and Lily Potter. They have all been notarized and filed and are to be deemed valid and will supersede any previous versions.

We, Lord James Charles Potter and Lady Lily Jane Evans Potter do hereby proclaim this to be our last will and testament. In the event of one of our deaths, we have agreed that we will leave the entirety of our worldly possessions to the other to do with what they see fit. And in the event we both should pass away, we bequeath our holdings and outline our wishes to be carried out as follows.

The custody and guardianship of our son Harry is to be established and followed to the letter. Should any person on the list become unable to execute their duties, by their own choice or by any other circumstance, the responsibility should pass to the next in line. As our faith and trust is currently tentative at best in these uncertain times, we feel it necessary to state that if any person should be found to be a traitor they would obviously be excluded from the list. The list is as follows:

Sirius Orion Black is Harry's godfather. Even in this time of strife, our faith in you Sirius has not been shaken. We know you would never willingly betray us and know you will do well in raising our son, but we do know that your own survival in this is not assured and hope you don't take offense to us creating a list. We know you won't go down without a fight Padfoot.

Alice Elizabeth Longbottom is Harry's godmother. Alice, you were Lily's greatest friend going through Hogwarts and you only grew closer after graduation. We thank you so much for all that you've done, and take good care of our son.

Remus John Lupin, we know that current laws forbid a werewolf from adopting a child, but we felt you should be on the list anyways, and if by some chance the laws regarding such things were to change, we would be honored if you would raise our son.

If for any reason the above names are unable or unwilling to do this, the list continues as follows:

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Professor Filius Flitwick

Mr. Peter Pettigrew

Lady Augusta Longbottom

Mrs. Andromeda Tonks

Lady Amelia Bones

Lord Damien Greengrass

Mr. Richard J Evans (muggle)

If none of the above named persons can assume this responsibility we request that Harry become a Ward of the State provided the following stipulations are met:

Upon reaching age 11 and entering Hogwarts, he be eligible for Full Emancipation and claim his rights as Lord Potter.

Any and all decisions regarding his placement be presided over by an impartial panel of delegates from the Wizenagmot.

He shall never, under any circumstances, be placed in the care of:

A known Death Eater or any person who so much as faced charges of being a Death Eater, regardless of verdict.

Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

Molly Weasley nee Prewitt

Vernon Dursley

Petunia Dursley

Margaret Dursley

Next we do hereby bequeath our belongings as follows. But it should be noted that if any person mentioned be found to be a traitor, or deemed unsuitable by a person of adequate authority to do so, their bequest is then rendered null and void. All bequests shall require the mentioned party to be present at the formal reading of the will.

To whomever assumes guardianship of our son, we leave a sum of 10 million Galleons, and they shall gain access to the Trust Vault #687 and conditional control of the family holdings in conjunction with Account Manager Griphook, until such a time as Harry Reaches His Majority.

To Sirius Black, We leave a sum of 8 million Galleons and the abovementioned Guardianship, and 1/3 ownership of the vault #969

To Remus Lupin, we leave a sum of 6 million Galleons, and the property in Godric's Hollow which shall be kept up with funds from the Potter Family Vault, and 1/3 ownership of vault #969.

To the rest of the persons mentioned in the eligible for guardianship section, we leave a sum of 2 million Galleons each as thanks for both earning and keeping our trust.

We also wish for funds to be withdrawn from our account in order to establish two self-sustaining scholarship funds. The actual sum required to ensure the fund is self-sustaining is variable over time and should be assessed at the time of the reading.

The first is to be entitled the Potter Family Memorial Scholarship Fund. This scholarship may be awarded to any prospective Hogwarts student of any background that would otherwise be hard pressed or unable to attend the school due to monetary reasons. It may cover anywhere from 25% up to 100% of the tuition. Special priority may be given to muggle-born students.

The second is to be entitled the Lily J Evans Higher Education Grant. This scholarship may be awarded to any Hogwarts Graduate who wishes to return to the Muggle World and gain their G.E.D. and/or their College Degree in the field of their choice. It may cover 100% of the expenses of a GED, and up to 50% of the cost of a College Degree.

If this will is being read, it can only mean one thing. We have been betrayed. We have agreed it is unwise to record who exactly we have placed our trust in, so we have assumed that all the aforementioned are trustworthy, despite any notions otherwise, and hence our added clauses regarding treasonous activity.

The course we have decided to undertake has very few points of failure. we have plans that, upon our return from exile, the first order of business will be to update this will and remove the following language. Should anything happen to disrupt these plans, the responsibility can only fall to one man.

To Albus Dumbledore we leave a sum of exactly 30 silver sickles in due payment for services rendered. We hope he appreciates the significance.

All other lands monies and assets shall be held in trust until Harry assumes his responsibilities as Lord Potter.

We, the undersigned, do hereby set our hand and seal on this date the 30th of September in the Year of our Lord 1981.

Lily Potter

James Potter

After he had finished reading, they all sat in stunned silence for several minutes. The three magicals merely looked at one another and each could see a myriad of emotions cross the others faces. Shock, sorrow, apprehension, admiration, and finally they all seemed to settle on righteous anger.

"Harry, I just want to say that I'm sorry and I would have taken you in immediately if I had only known." McGonagall said.

"Thank you Professor, I appreciate the thought. On another note, I notice that they seemed to place the blame squarely on one person. The same person that seems to keep showing up in our inquiries." He said solemnly.

"And if I might add, the fact that they didn't seem to even try to account for the possibility that you might not make it as well. They seemed pretty sure that you would survive." Added Lupin.

"Yes, all very interesting indeed." Commented Ragnok. "I offer this suggestion, as it is getting late, we should take this knowledge we have gained and mull it over for a time before reconvening and discussing options. Say tomorrow at 11 o'clock?"

They all nodded their agreement and said their goodbyes.

~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~

Upon returning to his room at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry decided he should take an inventory of his belongings, and perhaps check out a few of his new possessions.

The first thing he did was to get Hedwig's cage all set up properly, then he let her out of the cage. She flew around the room for a minute before alighting on his shoulder and looking at him closely. He did remember from reading his mother's diary that the post owls were no normal owls, and were highly intelligent. Apparently she approved of him because she made no squabble about him walking around the room doing this or that.

He took the shrunken trunk out of his pocket and enlarged it at the foot of his bed. He first opened the compartment containing the books he had bought and began removing them and organizing them by name and subject and creating a list of titles which he attached to the inside of the trunks lid. The trunk salesman had explained that there was a charm on the compartments that made retrieving items such as books easier if he could just stick a hand in and think the title and the book would come to his hand, or if he could picture the item he wanted it would also come to him. Otherwise it was just a blind grab. He also made an inventory of his potions supplies that he put in the trunks second compartment along with all the other items he owned that weren't books.

Then Hedwig decided she'd rode him around enough for one night and flew over to the window and peered out before looking back at him expectantly.

"Time to go Hunting then?" he asked as he went to open the window. She hooted softly. "Okay. Well you know where we're staying. I'll leave it cracked for you to get back in when you're done." He said as he opened the window and she took off into the night.

He then remembered that he requested that a small bolt hole be made in the trunk where one could hide. He hadn't checked it out yet so he grabbed his mother's trunk that they'd retrieved from the Dursley's and proceeded down a skinny ladder down into the trunk. When he reached the bottom he set the other trunk down in a corner and looked around. It looked to be a room about 10' by 10'. The walls and floor were wooden and nothing special and the ladder was along one of the walls, sloping down its length. It was almost flat enough to use as a staircase if you had good enough balance. Other than that it was completely empty. He made a mental note to get some camping gear and some non-perishable food to store in here, and a light source as the only light was coming through the hole in the top where his room was. All in all it would do nicely when he got it stocked properly especially with the locking mechanism to keep anyone from looking inside. He contemplated several ideas for a secondary exit strategy as he exited the trunk and made himself ready for bed. Tomorrow would be busy and he wanted to get a few things before they were supposed to meet with Ragnok again.

~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~

The next morning Harry awoke fairly early. He ventured into Muggle London for a bite of breakfast and went by several stores collecting a wide variety of things. Luckily London wasn't short on deserted back alleys where one could expand a magical trunk in which he could store all his purchases. Before long he made his way back into the Leaky Cauldron to meet up with his cohorts.

"Morning Mr. Potter, Fancy some breakfast?" asked Tom the Barman as he walked up to the counter.

"No thank you Tom, I've already eaten. But I would like a nice pot of tea if you've got one somewhere."

"I'll go put one on." He smiled

"Okay. I'll be over there at that table, and if you could bring a few extra cups, that'd be great. I'm expecting company."

"Will do." He went through a swinging door into the kitchen

"Thanks Tom." He said loudly before the door shut.

Professor McGonagall arrived only mid way through Harry's first cup of tea, early as to be expected.

"Good morning Harry." She said politely.

"Good morning Professor, you're early I see." He smiled as she sat at his table. "Would you like some tea?" he picked up the teapot.

"Oh yes, thank you." she picked up one of the empty cups, and Harry poured it.

"So what's on the agenda for today professor?" he asked.

"Well, we've got quite a bit of time before we're supposed to meet back at Gringotts. I thought we might go get a few things from Muggle London if you wanted. Or maybe look at some of the other shops in the alley to see if there's anything you simply can't live without."

"Well, I've already been into London earlier and got a few things, but the rest sounds fine to me." He said. But before they could agree on their course of action, a snowy owl landed on the table between them.

"Oh hello Hedwig." Harry said as she hooted softly around the letter in her beak. "Thank you girl. Would you like a bit of crumpet?" he took the letter and she did indeed grab one of the crumpets that had come with the tea and took it with her while she perched on Harry's shoulder. Harry opened the small note.

Mr. Potter,

I have completed the repair of your wand. You may retrieve it at your leisure.

-O. Ollivander, Master Wandsmith

"Okay. Well, it seems Mr. Ollivander has my wand fixed. I suppose we could start there."

"Very well then." She said as Harry paid for his tea and they made their way back through the archway into Diagon Alley.

~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~

They once again found themselves waiting for the elderly wandmaker to show up while Harry laughed internally at the ever-present magical aura spell. Right on cue the man rounded a corner and greeted them.

"Good morning Mr. Potter, Professor McGonagall." He said, to which they both returned the greeting. "If you'll follow me to the workshop." He said after stepping past them to turn the sign on the door back over to closed then heading around the counter and into the back of the store. They followed him down a long row of shelves holding who knows how many wands, then through an old dusty doorway into what could only be the workshop. There were various tables and workbenches around the room, and the whole place smelled faintly of varnish and fresh sawdust. He noticed that the aura spell did not reach into here. As he looked around the room he could see shelves stacked with various raw materials, and several tools hung on a pegboard above a workbench that Mr. Ollivander was approaching. He took a wandbox that Harry recognized off the bench, then turned and placed it on the table between them.

"You said in your note you had my wand repaired?" Harry asked.

"Indeed Mr. Potter, but it was not easy."

"I didn't imagine it would be. From the way you spoke yesterday it seemed quite serious. I must say though that I'm surprised that you repaired it so quickly."

"Years of experience Mr. Potter. Years of experience." He smirked as he gently removed the lid from the box, and slowly withdrew an instrument that scarcely resembled the wand he'd held the day before. Where the long troughs that were cut along its length used to be, there was now a light colored wood that stood out from the soft holly wood, and the rings at either end of the handle were now filled with a shiny metal. Ollivander held it closer and began to turn it over slowly so Harry could see it better.

"I must say I am still in the dark as to what exactly occurred during your last visit, but I do know that if it had cut but a millimeter deeper into the wood, it would have ruptured the core and the wand would be unusable. If I may, I would like to ramble on a bit about the properties of wood and wandlore so as to explain what I have done to repair the wand."

"Please do, I'm excited to hear it." Harry said.

"I am as well." Said McGonagall.

"Very well, first of all, Holly is a wood that embodies purity, strength, logic, power transfer, and protection. Holly wands are often used in magic concerning sleep. Since the story of the ruler ship of the Holly King and the Oak King deal with cycles and rebirth, it is often used in magic to ease the loss of loved ones to death. It also carries properties of the sacred, material advance, physical revenge, and beauty. It is also a very stubborn material in that it is quite picky when it comes to applying another wood to it. Simply filling the voids left by that event with a separate piece of holly was out of the question, it would only cause a conflict."

"Therefore I filled the void with wood of the Birch Tree which is used in many cleansing rituals. Birch is a symbol of rebirth, renewal, and diligence. Some use this wood to aid in the calming of emotions. The bark helps to heal wounds and burns. Many European communities use or have used, birch twigs to expel evil spirits. Some cultures utilize birch rods in rituals designed to drive out spirits of the old year. Controlled by Moon influences to include; birth, Lunar spells, healing, and protection. Birch by tradition has been linked to youth and new beginnings. It is used in rituals that signify a new start of any endeavor. It also happens to be the only wood that the holly would accept."

"But there I encountered yet another problem, the Phoenix Tailfeather in the core of the wand, wanted to fuse with the holly, and only the holly. So I had to embed quicksilver, or mercury, in between the two woods to act as a buffer. Now mercury is in essence a flow of crystals, a crystal river. Extremely active and impactful at the multi-level, mercury has many applications: from change, via trans-dimensional transportation of consciousness, to being a perfect choice for a magic mirror. As it is also a liquid I had to align the edges of the two woods together perfectly to provide a seamless transition. I should also say that, due to mercury's flowing properties, you can expect a significant power amplification than most wands have."

"Alas, yet again I encountered another problem. All these different materials in what was supposed to be one solid piece, made the wand quite unstable and fragile. I had to bind everything together using these two platinum bands at either end of the handle. Platinum has been called the 'solid wisdom metal.' It has a time attribute similar to lead which gives it extra dimensionality and a viewpoint of the wisdom of hindsight (or foresight). Platinum is an excellent metal for soul meditations and to help find and keep on a true road in this lifetime. It also complements both the birch and the mercury very well and rounds out the wand quite nicely as well as providing the needed structural support." He handed the wand over to Harry who looked it over closely and tested its weight in his hand. "All in all, a very fine wand. I know it will serve you well."

"I can't thank you enough Mr. Ollivander. What do I owe you?" Harry said gingerly tucking the wand back into its box and the box into his pocket.

Well. The wand was originally priced at 7 Galleons…" he trailed off

"Okay then." He counted a handful of coins from one hand into the other. "and what about the extra time and materials you put into it?" Ollivander thought for a moment.

"I don't know for sure. At least that much again." He said absently doing the math in his head. Harry counted out another 7 into his hand and looked at what remained to be counted. Before setting all of it on the counter.

"Ok, here's 20 Galleons." He said cheerfully.

"Oh. I can't accept that, it's too much." He began to hand some of it back to him. Harry merely put his hands up like he wasn't going to touch it again.

"No. you can. Consider it a thank you for doing such a fine job. Or use it to help the next kid who comes in and could use the help to get a wand. Whatever you like."

"Very well Mr. Potter. If you insist." He took the coins and put them in his pocket.

"I do." Harry smiled.

"I thank you for your business, and if you should ever need anything from me, do not hesitate to ask." He said as he escorted them back to the front of the shop.

"Thank you Mr. Ollivander." He waved as they exited the shop, the sign flipping back to 'Open' as the door swung shut behind them.

"Now where to, Professor?" Harry asked Cheerfully.

"Well I suppose we should head to the bank for our meeting…are you alright Harry?" she asked as his expression went from joyful to a grimace in an instant.

"Did…did everything just taste purple for a second?" he asked as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth. McGonagall simply shrugged and looked at him confusedly as they continued on their way.

~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~

Author's Note

~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~HPSM~

Alright. Finally got another chapter done, It's been a long time since I got the last one written. I had stalled on this one because I had a little fleshing out to do in later chapters which would require me to add things in on this one. But I think I've progressed to a point to where this can go out despite the hiatus. I'll spare you all the excuses as to why I haven't updated in so long. I moved halfway across the country. That's the short version.

Someone sent me a PM today asking about updates, and I couldn't come up with a good reason to not put something out. I have a lot more content written for this story, but I recently had to rewrite about 3 or 4 chapters because, well.. it was a direction that I really didn't want to go. So there is still some work for me to do in rectifying that kerfuffle.

And now, the original(Read: long) note that I've already written for this chapter:

I can sense my writing style changing. If you haven't noticed by now I don't like to quote thoughts. I'm not sure why. I guess I tend to read like I'm watching a movie, and as you know, most movies don't have any internal monologue on screen. You only see a character's actions. Although I'm sure I have put Harry's thoughts in there from time to time, I like to state them as fact and not as a quote. I also don't like saying "He said." After every little line of dialogue. One of the things that stuck with me from English class is 'New Speaker, New Line.' Although I think that rule can be broken for the sake of breaking up blocks of text. I may seem kind of hasty with the writing in this chapter, but I'm anxious to get back to Hogwarts, Gotta get back to Schooool, gotta get ourselves to Hogwarts, where everyone is magi-cooooll. (10 min song interlude) and I want to get this crap out of the way, but it's important so I can't afford to skip it. Anyways. I'm rambling. Getting close guys, I'm thinking the hiatus might be over after I finish yr one. Of course that's not to say I won't go on another after that, but if I space the chapters out enough. I should be fine. Plus I hate depriving you guys of all the material I've already written. I know how that goes. But seeing as you won't even read this till after I start posting again, I guess it's kind of useless. Haha. Oh well. It helps me out.

I should also probably begin to respond to reviews a little. Most have been quite positive, and I thank you for that. In fact I don't really remember a negative one coming across for quite some time. I did receive some from what I assume to be the same person who didn't take the time to sign in first. Which I totally understand, the login is a little cumbersome if all you're doing is leaving a review, but I do sometimes reply if I feel the need. In it, they expressed concerns regarding Harry's apparent memory lapse regarding his friends and that this has turned into an alternate retelling of canon. Here is my explanation:

I started this story, as I have most of my stories, with a solid(meaning I thought about it for several days) foundation and explanation as to how things are going to be different. Then as I write, I try to be mindful as to how this will affect the story ahead, and where the point is that I can begin to hit some sort of a routine in it. Using canon as a guideline for certain unavoidable events. The problem is transitioning from that initial foundational period, which I had mostly thought out ahead of time, to the actual storytelling portion which is loosely guided by canon. At that point, I sort of burnt out on this story, and didn't come back to it for a while. And silly me didn't write down what I was doing, so I had to think up something else. This involved me re-reading what I had already written, and trying to apply that towards deciding a general outline of where I wanted to be several chapters down the road. I came up with something I'm fairly happy with, but the problem was how to get us there. Hence a transition on top of a transition, which I admit is a little flimsy. That's what that person was picking up on. I'll freely admit that I'm not completely happy with it as it stands, but sometimes in Fanfictions you have to take things with a grain of salt.

The review said that they didn't buy that Harry and Co, just forgetting about one another for two years. To tell the truth I don't either. I knew Usagi wouldn't have as much time for things as she normally would, what with starting as SM Early. Hence the chapter about Luna training her to illustrate that. Then I had to add something for Hermione, which spawned the chapter about the advanced schooling. I figured she would jump at such a thing, and forsake all others, for a time anyways. Until Magic came-a-calling as it were. It would also give me a chance to address the failing of most muggleborns to achieve a normal education once entering Hogwarts. Harry's situation is where it's a little more flimsy. I postulated that he would simply accept certain failings in his life, and write them off as normal, due to his upbringing. Things such as loosing contact information for his only friends. But I also managed so sidetrack him with his mother's trunk, and what not. It's your basic 'one thing, led to another' scenario. Again, Flimsy, I know. I may come back to it someday and add in a section to further re-enforce it at some point. I have an idea of what I could do, but it's not very polished yet.

If any of you would like to write a section yourself as a contribution that would smooth out the bumps and yet not preclude any of my major plotlines, you are most certainly welcome to do so. I encourage it. If you'd like to PM me I'll send my rough idea of what I was thinking about doing, and maybe I'll include your section in the story.

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Tksanders3