Nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be discovered.
Luke 8:17
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
No 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey
Ignoring the pounding headache and feel of his stomach eating itself, Harry closed the door to Dudley's spare bedroom in exhaustion.
"About time"
Jumping, Harry spun to witness –what in hindsight would no doubt send him into hysterics- a strange Goblin sitting on his threadbare mattress as if it were a throne.
Harry blinked, wondering if he was delusional from a concussion again. Where a Goblin showed up in front of him in his probationary bedroom at Surrey, he hadn't any idea of what to expect next.
I never even contemplated the idea of them making house calls!
He half expected to see the Cheshire cat hanging from the branch in the tree across the street.
"Mr. Potter," The strange hallucination began, "prior to your Godfathers incarceration, he left a time delayed letter to be delivered to you personally by a Goblin not related to the Potter or Black accounts, should certain conditions be met. As well as orders that we are to bring you any information pertaining to yourself even if we believed you already possessed it as well as several select books." Informed the strange Goblin professionally, handing over five folders and a small stack of books.
"What are in those folders?" this seemed less and less like a hallucination; his delusions very rarely made this much sense.
"One folder contains information on all the business you own and all relevant information pertaining to them," sighed the Goblin, "one folder contains information on your vaults, another all relevant Family Wills and information while the other contains other relevant information and documents you should have/already know." That being said the Goblin vanished without even a pop.
Looking to the folders he decided to start with the one closest to him, which luckily also had a cover letter. The others looked too thick for his liking even if they pertained to him. He'd sleep in a moment once he knew what the hell was going on.
Dear Pup,Hi! I'm your Godfather Sirius Black!
If you are reading this then my worst fears have come to pass and so I must prepare you for what you will face in the future. As much as I preached I was a Light Wizard, the teachings of my Dark upbringings still haunted my steps; as much as I trusted Dumbledore -the leader of our group- the paranoia of our family wouldn't let me rest until I had a back-up plan should this path I'm currently on fall through. For you to have received this letter, and its attachments, then the following conditions have been met;
The Death or Incarceration of Lily Rose Potter nee Evans
The Death or incarceration of James Charles Potter
The Death or Incarceration of Sirius Orion Black
Sealing of the Will of Lily Potter nee Evans
Sealing of the Will of James Potter
Sealing of the Will of Lord/Lady Potter
The Placement of Harry James Potter into Petunia Dursley's care
The Placement of Harry James Potter into Vernon Dursley's care
The Placement of Albus Dumbledore as Magical Guardian over Harry James Potter
While I know I just said I was a part of Dumbledore's group, you must understand why my trust has wavered in the old man. Prior to Lily and James going into hiding, Dumbledore came to us and told us that I was too obvious a choice for Secret Keeper, and suggested we change to meek little Peter instead at the last minute. We measured what he said and came to the agreement that his arguments had a point. We changed Secret Keepers and Albus gave Lily a book on blood magic he said may help, and even suggested a ritual to use.
But our dear smart little Lily came to me a week before they were scheduled to go underground, to ask me about the ritual Dumbledore had suggested; as my family background and education when I was young gave me great insights into the realms of Dark Magic's.
While the ritual seemed innocent enough on the surface -if someone simply read it and took it as it seemed- but it took but one look deeper in the different interpretations of the wording to see how dangerous it actually was to the casters. The ritual would have used the life force of both you and your parents to kill or trap Voldemort; depending on how much magic power was required for either action. "All bound to me to kill the one who tried to kill all bound", essentially make you all sacrifices to kill the Dark Lord Voldemort.
So instead of using the ritual Dumbledore 'suggested' we instead decided to use soul wards and blood runes as they were much safer and offered more protection. But even though she knew what the ritual would have done Lily still labeled Dumbledore's farce of a ritual as him just not knowing the Dark Arts like someone from a Dark family would being Light.
I wasn't convinced in the least and so made preparations just in case.
Dumbledore probably knows more about the Dark Arts then even dear old Voldie does; having attended Hogwarts when the Dark Arts were still taught strongly alongside the Light and Grey Arts.
Anyway, as you've received this it means that what I suspected has come to pass.
Dumbledore is like a Shark in funny Lambs clothing, fooling all with his eccentricities and fake humility before gobbling up his victim's whole.
Just like Peter liked to do while we were in school.
Not many know that most of our crueler pranks were thought up by him while James or me just took the fall; Having more protection as Heirs then Peter did as a nameless Half-Blood-suspected and suspected Muggleborn.
Now dear Pup you must be the Joker playing Snake in the Grass to free yourself from the cage and chains he has no doubt bound you with as the Last true Potter. I have supplied the basic tools you'll need and leave you but one more bit of advice; be EXTREAMLY careful with whom you trust, as they may just be plants or paid friends.
Lots of Love My Sweet Pup,
Padfoot
Staring at the letter he was shocked at what he heard, the fact it had been delivered by a Goblin helped add credibility to…his Godfathers claims. But his own memories helped tremendously as well; once he had finished reading the letter the words had started to glow a brilliant gold.
All memories that had been hidden or someone had attempted to erase were restored as well as several blocks removed -even the Ministries Trace- which was quite a painful process let me tell you.
While feeling as light and free as when he was on his broom, he was also feeling just as sick and depressed when words started to appear at the bottom of the letter.
P.S. Any blocks you had on your body, magic, or mind was just removed. If you don't feel any different you had none. If you feel like you were just run over by the Knight Bus then holy shit you must have had a ton on ya!
. Marauder's Rule!
Once the nausea had subsided panic set in; he knew that today was the only day he had to plan if he was going to do anything as the only day the Dursley's were all gone; having left to eat at some new restaurant that just opened. Pushing on despite the lingering pain and exhaustion he felt he continued to the first folder with his name on it, picking up the first piece of paper in the stack.
Individual HistoryName: Hadrian James Potter-Black
Familial Nomen: Black Angel of Orion
Blood Status: Pureblood
Mate Status: (Unknown)
Mother: Lilith John Potter nee Evans (deceased)
Father: James Charles Potter (deceased)
Magical Guardian: Albus Dumbldore (Self-Appointed)
Muggle Guardian: Petunia Jane Dursley nee Evens
Godfather: Sirius Orion Black (Unknown/incarcerated)
Godmother: Michelle Longbottom nee Riddle (deceased)
Next of Kin: Sirius Orion Black
Next of Kin: Narcissa Malfoy nee Black
Heir to:
The Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter (Blood)
The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black (Blood)
The Most Noble and Ancient House of Slytherin (Conquest)
Abilities
Magical Sensitivity and Sight
Status: Unlocked (Previously Blocked)
Natural Wandless Magi
Status: Unlocked (Previously Blocked)
Natural languages
Status: Unlocked
Language: Human [English] (100%)
Language: Serpent (60%)
Language: Bird (20%)
Natural Occlumency
Status: Unlocked
Natural Animagus
Animal: Unknown
Status: Unlocked (Previously Blocked)
Mind of Comprehension
Status: Unlocked (Previously Blocked)
Note; The Mind of Comprehension is an ability that allows for quick comprehension and easy learning. It allows one to think clearly and objectively while still obtaining the information read.
Assassins Mind
Status: Unlocked, currently inactivated (Previously Blocked 60%)
Note; Focus, or the Assassins Mind, is the ability of awareness and speed in a threatening situation. Those who have the ability describe it as the world slowing down, their movements precise and deadly, and their minds clear and cold.
Natural Weapons
Note: Once blood ownership ritual is complete, it is impossible to steal or be used against the owner.
Status: Untrained
Hand-to-Hand:
Status: Untrained
Black's Twin Katanas:
The Japanese long sword. It is a slightly curved sword, with its convex edge sharpened, used since before the European Middle Ages. It was one of the weapons used by the Bushi class, especially the Samurai, but also ninja clans, feudal Japanese groups of spies and assassins who also used it together with a shorter sword called Wakizashi, or within ninja clans, a dagger like Wakizashi, called a Tanto. The Katana has been endowed with a sacred element, since it comes from the workshop of a member of the Shintoist priesthood. The two swords together are called Daisho (long and short), and were used by Samurai of all the ranks. Black's Katana is endowed with the sacred element of shadow. Deadly and silent, black flames appear during battle encircling the blade and welder which enable it to cut through nearly anything while absorbing low level magical attacks.
This weapon can be placed on the back or side-
Harry was very shocked at what he had discovered about himself; though he found it suspicious that he didn't have any medical records past his parent's deaths, when he knew Madam Pomfrey kept records of some kind every time he stayed in her ward. Flipping over to the next page he was rendered speechless and horrified at the fact there was even anything to fill in for the next title.
Contracts and Bindings
Marriage Contracts
Harry James Potter x Ginevra Molly Weasley
Contractor: Albus Dumbledore
Contractor: Molly Wesley
Hadrian James Potter x Umehito Nekozawa
Contractor: Sirius Black
Contractor: Uketa Nekozawa
Hadrian James Potter x Kyoya Ootori
Contractor: Lily Potter nee Evan
Contractor: Hellani Ootori nee Rose
Was everyone just bloody handing him out like Halloween candy! Bloody Hell! Looking back to the page angrily, he noticed a little side note next to the list of contracts scrawled, in what he thought was Sirius's handwriting considering it was the same scrawl on Sirius's letter. Had the man scribbled notes on every document? The words written took the wind out of his shocked anger quickly.
In the event that an individual has multiple contracts placed in their name it then becomes the responsibility of the individual or submissive to decide the final match.
…Oh…So from what Sirius had spoken about earlier maybe the other contracts from him and mum where placed as a precaution for in case any future guardians tried to force my hand...good job guys! What was not good was when he found out he was paying a number of people and groups he'd never heard of before a wage.
Y-Year, M-Month, W-Week, D-Day
Albus Dumbledore
500,000 (W)
Order of the Phoenix
500,000 (M)
Dursley Family
100,000 (M)
Molly Weasly
100,000 (M)
Ron Weasly
50,000 (M)
Ginny Weasly
50,000 (M)
Hermione Granger
50,000 (M)
…somebody was definitely going to pay dearly…
After reading everything else in the first folder and calming down after a small 'fit', Harry started to plan as he should have before he found out about Hogwarts. Letting his more ruthless Slytherin side take over as he wrote down what he wanted and needed to do. It was 15 minutes later that he was reading over his new list.
He was quite pleased with his new plan of action, though he knew it would probably be much longer once he'd had more time to think and go through the other files and books Sirius had sent. The first file had just been a basic summary of the other files.
Visit Goblins. Find out about; Potter account, Parents Will, ways to withdraw money without having to visit vault all the time, anything they might have to ask or inform him of; like why the theft was able to occur
Get away from bumbles (preferably emancipation)
Get my money back
Find out about the laws I need to know to obtain freedom and those that could bind me to the old coot
Find out what happened to Sirius: court records?
Study magic; find way to avoid ministry detection outside of school
Study abilities
New Trunk: multi-compartment like Neville's. Able to be used without wand?
New Clothes; muggle and wizard
Get away from traitors; Ruin traitor's lives
Find out about fiancés
Ruin bumbles life; take away his power
Find out what 'Order of the Phoenix' is
'Accidentally' Kill Dursley Family in a horrible way (make sure untraceable back to me. Maybe use Death Eaters for this?)
Harry's stomach grumbled. Reminding him of just how little he'd eaten since arriving back from Hogwarts last week.
Way to store food. Stasis box?
It seemed good enough for now since he couldn't think of anything else, plus he could always add to it later. He wasn't sure if he would be able to do most of it during the summer vacations, but even if he couldn't there were some things that could only be done once he went back to school; like studying.
Which would be near impossible to do here.
Once their cooling off period ended, Vernon and Petunia would be putting him to work around the house without remorse once more. So he was going to focus on what could be done while he was outside of Hogwarts.
Harry stacked and ordered the parchments he had been writing everything in and the Gringotts folders and Sirius books before hiding them under the floorboards where he hid his most important things, before quickly scribbling an angry letter to the Goblin and an order of books from Flourish and Blotts.
Taking Hedwig out of her cage, Harry attached the important letters with a bunch of what was now trash; the ones he was originally going to send to the traitors before he had been enlightened by his Godfather.
Taking Hedwig down the hall to the bathroom facing the backyard, Harry opened the window. He didn't trust that Dumbledore wasn't having him watched after the comment the man made.
"Be careful Hedwig," ordered Harry, "I don't know who we can trust right now. So stay away from Dumbledore and anyone associated with him. Dump the letters, don't linger"
Hedwig hooted
"I need you to deliver the one to the goblin first before heading to Flourish and Blotts. Deliver the mail to Ron and Hermione when you feel like it within reason. Stay at the park when you return please?"
Hedwig tilted her head before nodding and taking off into the afternoon light. She may not understand what was upsetting her chick right now, but she knew that bush and twig were no doubt to blame.
After reading the first folder, writing the letter, and giving Hedwig her instructions, Harry was so tired he could hardly think straight.
Harry crashed onto his bed in exhaustion.
He would be putting his original plan into action now; the one he had started before he knew what he could do was magic. He knew Dumbledore would probably have had people watching him after hearing one too many odd comments about things that Dumbles shouldn't have known about, unless he really was watching him. But he didn't know if the ward Dumbledore had mentioned would affect Hedwig or the letters.
If it even existed.
He had been suspicious of Dumbledore after the philosopher stone, but he could have chalked that up to idiocy.
But there was no excuse for the Chamber.
The last thing he wanted was his enemy knowing his next move before he wanted him too. As exhaustion overtook him, Harry smiled.
Goodbye Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived.
Hello Boy Freak.
0-0-0To the Goblin who visited No 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey on XXXX
Based on the documentation delivered, a large number of thefts have occurred from my vaults 704, 687, 007 and Family in general.
Is this normal for Gringotts?
H.J.P
GripTide flinched at the slight Heir Potter bluntly implied; if the boys claim proved true heads would roll; his own specifically if he did nothing about the missive now that he knew. Leaving his stall, GripTide made his way swiftly to The Managers office, thankfully not needing to wait long. He hadn't expected this when he'd agreed to take the package to the Potter boy.
"What?"
"We have a claim of theft from one of our high security clients." GripTide intoned gravely, as he stared at the old Goblin sitting behind the mound of paperwork.
Reading the note the Potter boy had sent, BladeMade frowned before summoning the records for the boys vaults. Skimming the first few pages of the folder, BladeMade's frown turned into a scowl at the blatant thievery.
"Send the boy a letter informing him his presence is requested at his earliest convenience." Ordered the head Goblin, as he too found the claim worrying; the account managers were supposed to prevent theft. For theft to have occurred on the magnitude he saw in even a glimpse of the Heir Potter's accounts, the boys account manager would have to either be extremely incompetent -which was impossible considering how hard it was to obtain that rank- or a traitor.
"Perform a silent Audit on the Potter and Black accounts as well as the accounts that are supposedly stealing from him."
Bowing, GripTide left his superior to scheme in peace as he went to perform his assigned tasks.
0-0-0-0While listening for Vernon's car as he cleaned a few days after sending the letter, Harry heard Petunia muttering to herself; it was her turn to host her gossip group's luncheon but she didn't want to have them over while he was there.
Harry suppressed a smirk.
"Aunt Petunia?" called Harry quietly, hoping his plan worked. This was the best chance he would have all summer.
"What Boy." demanded aunt petunia absently, eyes still on the tv.
"I can leave for the day if you want."
That got her attention, before she frowned a moment later, "Your kind said you had to stay here."
Harry bit his lip, pretending to think, "I think as long as I return before dark they won't even notice I'm gone"
Petunia's eyes lit with glee, before narrowing a moment later in suspicion, "What would you be doing all day?" she didn't want him hanging around the neighborhood; the neighbors would start asking questions again. Even if they'd be easy to deflect, it would be risky if they asked too many times.
Harry frowned as he pretended to think "I could walk around London or try and get a summer job?"
Greed lit Petunia's eyes, just as Harry knew it would. The money whore.
"Finish your chores."
"Yes Aunt Petunia." Returning to wiping the dust off the already clean furniture, Harry waited until Petunia left before he smirked.
The next day as he was coming down the stairs, Petunia shoved ten pound in his hand before shoving him out the door.
"What time do you want me back?"
"Be back by 7" she ordered.
Harry nodded to her before walking to the train station as she slammed the door at his back. Walking into the station shop, Harry quickly bought a rain hat that would cover his scar and that he could hide his hair in before leaving, 5 pounds lighter. Luckily having anticipated Petunia to give in within the week Harry had started carrying his wand and vault key in his pocket. He wasn't as stranded as Petunia no doubt thought he was.
10 pound would have only been enough for the train fair and nothing else. It was a good thing he had another way of getting there.
No matter how silly he felt about the idea of holding a stick in the air, Harry did it anyway. The books Sirius had sent were a gift from Hecate with how useful they were. Informing him about the basics that everyone born into the wizarding world would already know or need to know in order to live in that world. Jumping out of his skin when a triple-decker bus appeared with a loud bang; he really hadn't expected holding your wand out to work! Though it just confirmed the book on transportation's accuracy.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor for this evening." intoned a dirty looking skinny man in a shabby conductor uniform. "So Where ya headin'…?"
"Neville, I want to go to Gringotts Bank. How come the Muggles didn't hear the bus?" answered Harry quickly, thinking fast as he only just remembered about the muggles. It was like a bomb had just gone off! His ears were even ringing! But one look at the muggles surrounding them and it was as if he and the bus didn't exist!
Stan looked at the muggles before shrugging "Don' listen properly, do they? Don' looks properly either. Never notice nuffink, they don'" answered Stan arrogantly, before turning back to 'Neville', "That'll be five sickles"
"How much in pounds?" asked Harry, hoping he had enough money and that they actually took muggle money. Stan only cocked his head in obvious confusion in reply; prompting Harry to elaborate.
"I only have pounds on me until I can get to the bank"
Stan blinked before nodding, "5 pounds then" handing the last of his muggle money over, Harry walked to one of the beds. It seemed the exchange rate was in the wizards favor "Take her away Ernie!" Harry barely had time to sit -fall- onto a bed before the driver was off.
"Isn't this a bit dangerous?" Inquired Harry timidly as they went faster than he believed they should have been going in London traffic, even as parked cars swerved out of their way and they shrunk to fit through the moving traffic.
"No. We haven't had an accident in about a week." Stan replied proudly, missing the way Harry's face paled at the short time frame. Looking behind him, Stan grinned just as the bus -and his bed- lurched. The entire trip must have taken only five minutes out of a trip that normally took over an hour.
"Gringotts Wizardin' Bank~!"
Exiting the bus on shaky legs, Harry still had one foot on the last step when he noticed the building they'd stopped in front of didn't actually look anything like Gringotts, "Am I really at the right spot?" maybe they were directionally challenged? Smelled too many potions?
"Muggleborn?"
"Muggle raised" replied Harry absently as he eyed the accounting store.
Stan nodded, "This is just another entrance you can use dat's assessable directly from the muggle world, and the closest we can take ya to it."
"How do I get in?"
"It's like the Leaky Cauldron; can only be seen by someone who knows about our world, but without the need for magic to enter. Ya just go straight through da door and you're in."
"Thank you"
"See ya aroun' Neville!"
After thanking Stan, the Knight Bus was gone to gods know where before he'd even finished turning. He had the distinct urge to bow down and kiss the ground as a sudden chill ran up his spine, even as he wobbled into the building before him.
Entering the lobby, Harry was surprised to only be met with two tellers; having expected to see the sixteen tellers he'd always seen when he entered from Diagon Alley. Recognizing one of the tellers as the one who'd delivered Sirius's package, Harry approached.
"Can I speak with you regarding the possible theft of my vaults."
The Goblin nodded and rose once he'd confirmed Harry's key. The Goblin having expected the visit after he'd received the boys' letter and having sent their own. Though he didn't know Harry hadn't received his letter yet.
"This way Heir Potter"
Being led through the halls of Gringotts, Harry passed all sorts of rooms until they came to a room labeled Meeting Room 243. Entering, both parties were quickly seated.
"Are you sure you didn't authorize these transactions?" demanded GriptTide, eyeing the transactions before him shrewdly.
"100% sure. Outside of the two times I've personally come to get money for school there shouldn't be anything. Not only that, these transactions have been going on only after my parent's deaths; how could a baby approve these?" demanded Harry angrily, thinking the Goblin would blame him for the thefts.
"The Dursley's?"
"I never received not one knut of the money sent, and can prove it through my memories and truth serum or medical tests if necessary."
GripTide nodded in confirmation. "An Audit was conducted on your account after you informed us of your suspicions."
"What did you find?" inquired Harry more calmly now, though still angry.
"While your trust vault was left alone after you started Hogwarts, the money in your other vaults was not. Thankfully the Potter's were as paranoid as the Black's up until your father; no family heirlooms can be removed from your family vault unless by someone of Potter blood. "
"Do you know what it was used for?"
GripTide flipped through his papers, "Bribes and fines mostly from what we found, as well as large purchases."
Harry bit his lip as he thought; Dumbledore had had his father's cloak, what else did he or someone else have that should have belonged to him?
"Is there a way to reclaim any heirlooms not in the vault?" the Goblin raised his brow, "Dumbledore was in possession of my father's cloak, a very important heirloom of the Potter Clan. I'm wondering that if he stole the cloak from Godric Hallow, what else was taken?"
"There is a ritual that will summon anything with Potter DNA or magical residue on it or in the family name."
Harry bit his lip, "Wouldn't house elf magic destroy the residue?" he knew most purebloods had elves; he couldn't imagine his dad not having one with how Snape described him.
"No. because house elves feed on the magic of their masters -unless ordered otherwise- the magic they use possesses an almost identical residue to the family magic."
"I would like to do the ritual." The goblin nodded before making a note on some spare parchment, before he paused, looking up.
"I would suggest also performing a full medical check."
Harry was about to deny this, but then wondered why he needed to deny something so basic a moment later. And that thought worried him. "Will it check for spells and potions?"
GripTipde nodded before tapping a globe twice before speaking in Goblin to someone on the other end. In the end two basins appeared; one gold and the other pure jade. Both carved with Runes of different kinds.
GripTide passed him a dagger.
"Spill your blood into each bowl one at a time starting with the Jade one. The wound will heal when you've spilt enough blood."
Cutting his palm, Harry let his blood drip into the translucent liquid in the Jade bowl. When his wound closed, GripTide placed a roll of parchment in the mixture to soak while he repeated the process with the Gold basin. But when GribTide placed the parchment in the Gold bowl, something happened. Where the wound had been it was as if over half his magic had been drawn there before leaving it.
When the basins began to glow, he knew it wasn't just his imagination.
Suddenly exhausted, Harry watched tiredly as the parchments glowed gold before words began to appear in a dark brown; the colour of dried blood.
"The misplaced heirlooms and personal effects have been placed in the main family vault." Intoned GripTide, even as he eyed the medical scroll wearily; the scroll was still unfurling and being filled; which was unusual. Even though the ritual reveals an individual's full medical history, with children as old as Heir Potter at most he would have expected two pages. But as he picked up the now finished scroll, he was sickened to note it was twelve pages long.
"How was the theft able to occur?"
Putting the medical report out of mind, GripTide focused on the current issue of the moment.
"Dumbledore had placed his own account in the care of the Goblin who was also in charge of the Potter vaults before your parent's deaths, before beginning to bribe him." GripTide informed him calmly, "Normally it's the responsibility of the account manager to watch for unauthorized transactions and safe keep any wills or legal documents of the Clan."
"Don't others check anyone else's work?" it was basic practice as far as he was aware in the muggle world.
"Despite the thefts, all the documents were filled in correctly without altering the real transaction amount. Because of this, the spells and wards placed on the archives didn't pick up on the thievery as it would have had with even one digit been out of place." The wards existence wasn't a widely known fact, but higher up Goblin's who worked on the ward and those close to them knew; he only knew because his sire had been one of the stone cutters who grafted replacement runes for the key stone a number of years ago. The ward was mainly used to catch the human workers attempted thievery, but sometimes the odd lower ranked goblin was caught too.
"What kind of punishment will the account manager receive?"
The smile on the Goblin's face was purely sadistic, "He was executed brutally last night."
Harry nodded calmly, desensitized to the idea of death thanks to the very unimaginative death threats the Dursley's always threw about. GripTide looked back to the medical scroll. A grimace on his face as he eyed some of the injuries listed and the age Heir Potter had been when they had occurred. Some when he wasn't even out of his infancy; though the blocks and suppressors were of a more pressing matter today.
"Are you aware of the suppressors and blocks on your magic and abilities?"
Harry nodded, "I don't know what they were specifically, but Sirius's letter removed them."
"May I see the letter?" inquired GripTide curiously. Fingering the gold letters on the parchment he was presented with, when GripTide sent his magic into the parchment he sensed the blood magic Lord Black had used. If it was the ritual he suspected, Lord Black had used untainted blood from Heir Potter to reset the boy's magic and core. The blood would have had to have been collected before any foreign magic took root; which meant the blood was taken prior to the Potters going into hiding; most likely a few days after his birth.
It was a surprisingly wise move on Lord Black's part.
Something the man was not known for.
"Now that the suppressors and blocks have been removed, you'll notice your natural instincts start to bleed into your normal personality." commented the Goblin after he'd finished reading Harry's results as well as Sirius's letter.
"What do you mean?" interrupted Harry, mind still a bit muddled thanks to the pounding headache and exhaustion the ritual had left him with.
"Most noticeably, as a submissive you'll start nesting more heavily." GripTide intoned gravely, like nesting was the origin of mankind's greatest fear. Which to a dominate, it was.
Harry really hoped that didn't mean what he thought it did, as an image of him building a human sized bird nest was bad enough in his head; he didn't want it to become a reality!
"Nesting? Submissive?" Harry was confused; and a little terrified.
GripTide eyed Heir Potter wearily, "Unlike what the muggleborns and muggle lovers would have you think, Wizards and muggles really are a completely different species, but one that can breed together to create a mule…muggles do this with birds if I remember correctly. With nesting you'll start to become territorial over your living space, and may even become obsessive about keeping it clean and organized." Answered GripTide with a long suffering sigh; as though he had been dealing with idiots all day and had just been saddled with another.
Harry twitched.
GripTide was the most melodramatic Goblin he knew!
GripTide sighed as he eyed all the documents before him, "Dumbledore holds too much power at this point in time."
"Is emancipation an option in the wizarding world?" he knew the steps for the muggle one, but he doubted it'd hold true in the wizarding world.
"There are a few options open to you," mused GripTide absently as he thought about it, "Once someone completes their NEWTS or Mastery -regardless of age- they are considered an independent adult. If your muggle aunt and her family weren't still with the living, you could petition to become a ward of the crown as a member of British and Scottish Nobility. But because of your status, fleeing the country isn't an option, as the crown itself will retrieve you." Despite being known as a British house today, the Potter's were originally Scottish, but they were still Royalty "But If you could find a family member willing to take you in, with the proof of neglect we have against the muggles you could petition to become their ward instead…or simply stay at a friends for the summer holidays."
Harry frowned, "Dumbledore will make me return if I tried the last two."
GripTide shrugged, "He'd only be able to get away with it if you remained a silent victim." GripTide sighed as the saw the boy about to open his mouth, "Make a scene if you have to; a vocal one. If the general public knew how you were treated by the muggles, Dumbledore wouldn't be able to send you there without a large amount of backlash. But I'd only attempt this after you find a family member or powerful enough friend to protect you from Dumbledore's attempt at a counter attack. Which will most likely be kidnapping."
Harry's mouth snapped shut, before his head tilted in thought.
"Do I even have any family for that to even be an option?"
Griptide flipped through the Potter Family tree, "You have a cousin, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black available. She's from your paternal grandmothers family and mother of one of your year mates. She has the strongest claim on you after your godfather. She attempted to partition for custody of you after your parents deaths, but it seems the claim disappeared shortly after she filed it." The petition seemed to have been going smoothly through the steps, but disappeared once it reached the Auror department. It was likely one of Dumbledore's lackeys in the department disposed of it. And because you can only petition once every ten years she wasn't able to repetition…GripTide frowned. Judging by the date on the petition, the bill about the ten year cooling period was passed mere days before Lady Malfoy's petition went missing.
Odd.
Harry grimaced reflexively at the idea of being related to Draco of all people. GripTide caught this. While normally he'd just let a wizard flounder, the Goblin nation had been greatly shamed by their kinsmen's disloyalty, and would need to regain their honor by aiding the wronged party until their death; which was the only reason he decided to add his own opinion into their discussion.
"Don't forget you were under compulsions on top of the suppressors. You will need to reevaluate all your bonds; friendships and enemies alike." Seeing the boy nod reluctantly, GripTide started scribbling a list of basic supplies the boy would need if he was going to succeed on his new path, even as he summoned two vials; one pepper-up and the other a magic replenisher.
Handing Heir Potter the vial of pepper-up first, GripTide made sure the boy took it before handing him the magic replenisher. The pepper-up would clear the boy of any lingering infection he incurred during his latest stint with the muggles, while the magic replenisher would restore the boy's energy after both rituals. Neither ritual normally took too much energy, but there had been a lot of injuries and a lot of heirlooms that had been…misplaced.
While the boy was finishing the last potion, GripTide requested the last of what he needed over the communication orb. When the requested items arrived, GripTide regained the boy's attention when he handed him a pair or white gold earrings and a pendent and chain; also in white gold.
Griptide pointed to the first earring.
"One will prevent the mind arts effects until you can master the art yourself, while the other will allow you to change your appearance like a metamorphmagus would. But be warned, if you take the metamorphmagus earing out without first cancelling its effects, the change will become permanent and can stunt your magic if the change is too great." GripTide pointed to the pendent next, "Anything you place on the chain will only become visible when you wish it too." The large ruby hidden within the pendent was what made it work. The runes carved into the stone focused the magic, while making the magic harder to detect with the stone being the boy's birthstone.
Harry nodded, wide eyed. Before frowning; not knowing what the mind arts actually were. He'd need to pick up a book or something. The Goblin handed him the dagger once more.
"You will need to place a few drops of your blood on each piece in order to imbue them to your magical signature." Ordered GripTide, "only you will be able to remove them once you do." Once the jewelry had finished glowing and absorbing the boy's blood, GripTide pierced Harry's ears before inserting the earrings into each hole. It wasn't the most painful of processes with magic, but nor was it the most pleasant either. But once the shock of the sting had faded, Harry became curious.
"How does the metamorphmagus earring work?" if it could remove his scar, Harry would be willing to give up his vaults to keep it.
"Think of the change happening, imagining the process somewhat."
Following GripTide's instructions, Harry pouted as he still felt his scar on his forehead when he was done, "it didn't work" Harry wined, causing GripTide to roll his eyes at the child before him.
"It won't remove a curse scar completely, but you can change its location." GripTide sighed, wondering what the silly humans were teaching their young when the boy before him didn't even know something so basic!
Harry grinned, before doing just that; moving the scar to the skin atop his tail bone. No one would think to find it there!
0-0Exiting the bank a few hours later with a blood linked money pouch, Harry noticed an inscription he hadn't noticed before when he looked back;
Though small in stature we are great in might!
There is reason why man once ran in fright!
He couldn't help cracking a smile at the dramatics of the Goblins. Such drama queens…maybe he could get old voldie to say that to their face?
The look on both their faces would be priceless!
Walking out the Diagon Alley entrance with straight Dark-Veela black hair -and his scar hidden on his backside- Harry made his way to Whimsic Alley, following the map in the book Sirius had provided. The man's notes said most of the better quality stuff was found there, while Diagon Alley was more for the poor students and cheap general goods.
Bringing out his list once he'd found the alley, Harry decided clothes were the first order of business. It was why he'd kept his normal coloring after all.
Wondering the street, Harry took note of any interesting shops he wanted to look in before entering the first decent clothing store he saw.
As he browsed the racks, he noticed there were a lot of muggle designs and foreign clothes he recognized from his primary school lessons of different countries. He had to say, he liked the Japanese and Chinese kimonos a lot better than the British wizarding robes he had to wear normally. Picking out a few designs he liked after picking up a basket, Harry carried them over to the muggle section, where he picked out some muggle clothes.
Mia just watched this until she could hold her tongue no more; the boys fashion sense was brutal!
"Shopping is more complicated than just picking out things you like!"
Harry blinked before looking at the top in his hand; he'd just been picking out clothes he liked. Seeing this, Mia sighed. Stealing the top from the boy's hand, she held it up "If you bought this top, what bottom would you put it with?" the top was hideous and outdated if you asked her, so if the brat wanted to wear it he had to convince her first that he could pull it off. She watched as he rummaged through the clothes he already had in his basket, before he pulled out a nice pair of long lime checkered shorts.
Checkered Lime short with orange Quidditch shirt. Even Harry could see it was a bad idea.
Putting the shirt back in the rack, Mia turned back to the poor boy, "What are you trying to say about yourself?"
Harry shrugged, "What were the clothes I picked before going to say?" it was a concept he'd heard before around the neighborhood when referring to girls or guys going for job interviews. There was a girl the next street over who was a total prune with zero interest in boys and her head always in a book, but because she dressed a certain way she was looked down on as being loose with no morals by the adults. It was sad, but humans were jealous shallow creatures.
Looking through the clothes in his pile, she could see it was a mixed bag with nothing really matching, "Like a bum who's been rummaging in a charity bin." It was the closest she could describe the almost walking fashion disaster…the boy definably went to Hogwarts. She looked him in the eye, "Hogwarts?"
Harry's eyes widened in shock, "How?!"
"Dumbledore." Mia sighed gloomily, "It's contagious." Mia shook her head to clear her mind of the after images. "Describe yourself. What do you like?"
Harry frowned as he thought, it was a good question, "I like to learn and animals…especially birds." Anything that flied really, but what did he want to say to others? "I think I'm going for a rebel scholar look?"
Going through the boy's basket, Mia pulled the oriental styled robes out before pushing him into the changing room -they were more flattering then the British robes- while she gathered some items that would fit what he wanted. She grabbed a few styles of long pants, shorts, tops and winter gear. Once they found the style that suited him, the rest of the selection would go smoothly.
In the end, they settled on 7 sets of oriental robes and black formal pants and accessories among his other purchases, not even bothering with the British robes. Showing him the book with the different charms that he could have sewn into the garments, Mia went about separating the boy's purchases while she waited. The boy seemed to favor a modern take on Victorian era clothing with chains and different kinds of boots for his muggle clothes, but a tighter version of oriental for his wizarding attire. It was an odd mix at first glance, but it looked good on him surprisingly; but that didn't mean he didn't buy more modern clothes.
It didn't take too long for him to finish with Mia's help.
"I want the anti-Fire and water charms, anti-blemish, tear and wrinkle, auto-fit, and notice-me-not charms" turning to the VIP list, he found two packages he knew would come in handy "I also want the Heir and Lord packages." While expensive, they were the best packages to protect him against theft and tampering. Besides preventing his clothes from being stolen, the runes that came with the packages prevented others from placing any type of monitoring or modifier spells on him while wearing it.
Harry thought she would comment on his age as she was running up his purchases with how much money he'd spent, but when she said nothing, he realized it must be normal for the higher end stores to have customers come in like he did and spend that much...probably more if it was Draco.
Leaving the store several hundred gallons lighter, Harry was very thankful for magic when the shop attendant had handed him a feather light shopping bag with all his new clothes shrunken inside.
Wandering the open alley once more, Harry wandered into the bookstore next. Considering the difference between the looks he got in his rags compared to the looks he was getting now…there was no comparison. He was happy the seamstress had convinced him to wear one of his new outfits instead of throwing his hand-me-downs back on.
Wandering the bookstore in his new clothes, Harry was loading books on every subject he could find, collecting every level of books he needed or could want for all the Hogwarts classes, as well as many subjects not taught at the light orientated school.
Just as he was heading for the teller, Harry noticed two books that looked interesting. Picking up 'Magical Portraiture, Volume 1: Discovering the Wonders of the Portrait' and 'Magical Weaving; protection of the mundane and magical' Harry thought they both looked interesting if nothing else, and wanted to know how to protect his cloths himself in case someone managed to overpower the current charms and runes, as he did indeed know how to sow decently.
He now had enough books that he should be able to pass his NEWTs with these books alone, while he had enough on other subjects that he wouldn't grow bored any time soon.
Wandering into the luggage store, Harry was entranced by the different designs and enhancements on display. He knew he wanted two compartments each for his clothes and books; one for what anyone looking through his things was expecting to find, while the other would have everything else.
"What can I do for you lad?"
Turning to the old man, Harry thought hard on how to word what he wanted.
"I want trunk 38 with two libraries, wardrobes, and stationary compartments. I also want a full wizard apartment included with full protections." By getting a wizard apartment instead of the standard one, a potions lab was also included in the package, "I also want the functions to be able to be used without a wand." Harry added lastly, remembering about his biggest issue with the muggles. The trunk was dark green -almost black- with silver trim and embroidery.
Harry loved it.
0-Arriving back in Surrey with two hours to spare after grabbing something to eat, Harry activated the Notice-Me-Not charms on his clothes -despite being dressed in the Dursley's hand-me-downs again- it would work so long as he kept a hold of the garment he'd activated, as he made his way to the park where he'd told Hedwig to wait.
When he found her, she was flanked on either side by a brown owl and a regal looking Hawk. Relieving her companions of their package, Harry was amused to discover she'd herded the Flourish and Blotts owl as well as a hawk carrying what looked to be a Gringotts letter into her tree. After paying the Flourish and Blotts owl the bird flew off, while the hawk waited to be feed first. He hadn't realised you could train hawks to deliver mail, but considering it was a Gringotts bird it may just be a Goblin thing.
After reading the missive and packing the books away in his new trunk, Harry and Hedwig went back to the Dursley's for the night.
0-Dumbledore-0Appariting to a quaint little café in the heart of muggle London, Albus dialled the Dursley residence. As the Hogwarts headmaster, it had become essential that he learned how to use a muggle phone with the increase of muggleborns.
Especially for times like this.
But muggle things don't work at Hogwarts sadly, so he got to go out to lunch for a change. The boy's day watcher had just informed him young Harry had caught the train this morning, he couldn't tell him where the boy had gone sadly, because the man had lost Harry in the rush of muggle commuters. Though the most likely place he'd gone was muggle London, the fact no one had seen the boy in Diagon Alley was a good sign though. Dialling the number, Albus waited.
"Hello?"
"Mrs Dursley?" he found it was always best to make sure, despite sounding…female, it wouldn't do for dear Harry to have answered instead. There were very few people who remembered how knowledgeable he was about muggle technology from his time as deputy.
"Yes? Who may I ask is calling?" inquired the women pleasantly, he wasn't fooled.
"Headmaster Dumbledore of Hogwarts" answered Albus cheerfully, "I was wondering if you could tell me how the boy has been spending his summer so far?"
He could even hear Petunia sneer, "Earning his keep as he should be. He'll be getting a job in London this summer to pay us back!"
Albus blinked at that.
"What a wonderful idea!" why hadn't he thought of that!? It was just an extra way for the boy to get used to following orders! "So sorry to have disturbed you, good Night." Hanging up the phone, Albus smiled happily. He'd been quite curious as to what the boy had planned, but seeing how it was his aunt who sent him to London, there was nothing to fear of any future trips so long as the boy didn't enter any wizarding districts.
Sitting back and ordering a lemon and ginger tea off the waitress, Albus relaxed. His tools were coming along nicely. He expected a few bumps to pop up in the future if everything went as planned, but he had no doubt he'd be able to handle it beautifully as he had done in the past.
All was right with the world.
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Edited: 1/12/15
AN:
Familial Nomen – is a type of old Roman naming system. At first it was used to identify a single family like todays modern surnames, but later it was used to identify a person's political affiliation. Think like how the Italian Mafia have different 'families' even if not all members are related by blood.
Dark (Dark Family) Angel (muggle) of ( a part of=child) Orion (Star).
Without Lily's input of calling Harry an Angel in her ignorance, it would have roughly translated into Dark Child Orion (the constellation Sirius is a part of). Basically stating that Harry is a 'child of the Black family'.
It's considered very much a curse to name a child directly after another relative in my culture, especially if they're deceased. In the Harry (adult) Harry (child) sense, not the Harry (Adult) Hadrian (child) sense. Which is why I altered his name.