Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. And that's the truth. Pbbbbttttt.
A/N: OK! I know I said a "couple days." I had every intention of it being a couple days... but a couple parts slowed me down. But... it's done NOW! YAY!!!
As for my note from last chapter... Dan quoted Captain Picard from the episode "Attached" of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In that episode, his and Dr. Crusher's minds were linked by an alien device. Before it was removed, she tells him that "thanks to the implant, I got to 'hear' some very interesting dreams of yours." After an awkward moment, he replies in good humor, "a man can't be held responsible for what his mind does when he's asleep."
Like I said... just for fun... but if I'm going to blatantly borrow, I want to say so. :-)
And of course, THANK YOU to my beta, MapleMountain.
Chapter 20. Where There's a Will...
Harry sat for several minutes, staring at the still-folded letter, listening to the sound of everyone else unfolding theirs. He just couldn't read it yet. He wanted this to be over with as quickly as possible, and at the same time, he also wanted it to take as long as possible.
As the minutes slowly passed by, he heard several people walk up to the table sign their letters, and then return to their seats. Though he didn't look to see who they were, hearing from where in the room they walked, he knew it was the Minister, Professor McGonagall, Remus, and Tonks. He soon heard a gasp from the opposite side of the room, and then came the disbelieving voice of Molly.
"No..."
That much? Harry wondered as he looked over to the other side of the room where all of the Weasleys were standing around Fred and George. He was quite certain that the more money Sirius left them, the more likely they would have been to refuse it, if it wasn't for his "little detail." He also thought it fitting that the Marauder would put Fred and George in charge this time.
Harry also threw a quick glance towards Madam Bones. He was relieved to see her smiling as she re-read the letter. He wanted to turn around to see Professor McGonagall, Tonks, and Lupin, but he felt that would have a little too obvious, not to mention intrusive. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see Hermione's reaction.
A few minutes later, Harry heard Hermione fold her letter back up and set it in her lap. After a few moments, she turned in her seat to face him. He looked back up and turned to look at her as well. Her eyes glistening slightly, she took his hand and then whispered to him, "I promise."
Harry stared at her with a slightly confused look on his face. "You promise what?" he whispered back.
"Didn't you read your letter?" she asked incredulously. He shook his head guiltily. Hermione rolled her eyes and then gave him a look that clearly meant, "READ your letter!"
Harry nodded and began to open it. As he did, Hermione went up to Darmok to inquire about opening an account and getting her own vault. Harry began to read.
Dear Harry,
There are so many things that I want to say to you. First, let me just say that I plan on rewriting this letter every so often, just to try to keep it up to date. This is the fifth time I've written it since you and your friend rescued me. I know it may seem a little morbid, but considering there's a war brewing and that I'm still a wanted man, unfortunately it's the only way I can make sure my last words to you are the ones that I want to say now.
I'm sorry that I wasn't able to be there for you for all those years I was locked away. I know that it was out of my control, but it doesn't make it any easier. What's done is done, and we can't change it.
I'm also sorry that I won't be there for you in the future. I would've loved to have been there for you to have you ask me all about girls and Quidditch (and girls).
I would've loved to have been there standing with you as you asked that one special girl to spend the rest of your life with you. I was lucky to be able to do that for your father. It was the second happiest day of my life. The happiest of course was the day you were born to my best friends, and they told me they wanted me to be your godfather.
Please, just know that although I won't be able there standing beside you, I will still be there with you. Oh, Merlin. Didn't I just say something about not being repetitive?
Harry let out a slight chuckle.
Harry, please tell me that someone laughed at something in my letter. I tried to put a couple little somethings in there. I figured that everyone would've had enough of being sad at my funeral, so I hoped that a laugh or two might help lighten everyone's spirits.
These past few months have changed my outlook slightly, so I must admit that this latest letter is unlike any of the previous four that I've written. Obviously, if you're reading this, then I haven't rewritten it yet, so everything in here should be recent enough that it makes sense.
In my earlier letters, I left you with all kinds of advice on how to live your life. I even put in a few "amusing" stories to share with Remus. But not this time.
This time, there is only one thing I want to ask of you: LIVE!
Live your life. And I don't mean "don't get yourself killed by Voldemort." I mean, LIVE your life!
Being locked away here these past few months, I've realized that there's no point in being alive if you don't LIVE that life.
And so, I want you to promise me something: I want you to LIVE every day that you are alive. It now means more to me to know that you will enjoy and think more about your life ahead of you than relive whatever stupid pranks your father and I pulled on poor Snivellus and bemoan the fact that I'm gone.
That also means trying a little harder than I did in my last two years of school. You never know when some obscure charm OR POTION might save you someday.
Snivellus "accidentally" put me in the Hospital Wing for four days in seventh year. He knew I'd been sliding my way through Defense. He pulled that spell straight out of the assigned reading... reading that I hadn't done. People will use your own weaknesses against you. Don't give them the chance! (Oh, and don't worry... Snivellus had his own accident a month later.)
If I died in battle, then you need to know that it is important for you to LIVE your life because there is a war coming. The time will soon come when you find yourself in the middle of that war. When it does come, you may not have any more after it, so I hope that the time you did have was well spent.
If I died by getting hit by the Knight Bus, then you need to know that it is important for you to LIVE your life because there are never any guarantees in life. Tomorrow may never come. If it doesn't, I hope that the time you did have was well spent.
If I died at the hands of an angry father... well... do as I say and not as I do. Just make sure you get to know the girl's father a little better before hand.
Harry chuckled again, considering he thought something along those lines a couple hours ago.
Oh, come on! You had to have laughed at THAT!
The chuckle turned into a laugh.
And finally... if by some tiny chance, Severus had anything to do with my death, I want you to promise me this: do NOTHING! Your life is too important to me to have you spend the rest of it in Azkaban because you decided to seek revenge. Please, hear me out.
I promise you this: a person can not play both sides for very long before he finally loses his footing and slips. Sooner or later, Snape will slip up and he will die, at the hand of either Dumbledore or Voldemort.
If by some miracle he makes it through the war unscathed, I firmly believe in the saying that the best revenge is living well. I DON'T CARE what happens to Snivellus if I know you are LIVING well. Enjoy your life. Get married. Have a couple kids. All while Snivellus rots away in his dungeon alone.
So, Harry, here's the hard part. I want you to promise that you will do everything in your power to LIVE your life.
I want you to tell your friend Hermione that you promise to do as I've asked. You won't need to tell her what you are promising. All that matters is that you promise. I've told her to expect your promise. I've also asked her to promise something to me as well.
Why Hermione? Well, let me just say that I'm speaking from personal experience on this one. James, Remus, and I all found it much harder to lie to Lily than to each other. We could rarely pull the wool over her eyes... Well, except for your father, but that was only because it was her jumper and then... well, somehow I don't think you want to hear about that.
Harry let out a small groan. Now he really knew why Hermione was complaining about Dan and Emma snogging when they were in the mall eating lunch that day. It was one thing to think about his aunt and uncle snogging. Harry had to close his eyes for a second to brace himself against that thought.
It was another thing entirely to have Sirius cause him to consider the possibility that his father would actually take off his mother's clothes... and then they might even... have sex... with each other, no less! Harry shuddered at the thought.
So, Harry, time to pay up. Promise me that you'll do everything you can to LIVE your life. What's the point in defeating Voldemort if you wallow away your years because I'm not there? Promise me!
And now, finally, let's get to the business: business.
I, Sirius Black, do hereby bequest to Harry James Potter the entirety of the Black Estate, minus all other bequests as itemized on the attached schedule.
Harry, I am leaving you everything that remains after I hand out a few parting gifts. More than the money, which is not an insignificant figure I might add, there are two things I wanted to address specifically: Grimmauld Place and my motorbike.
They are both yours. I am willing them to Remus temporarily to be put into a trust until you turn seventeen. If I tried to give them to you directly, today (whenever today is...), then we'd need your uncle here to sign for it, and I'm sure neither of us would want that. The motorbike should be safely stored away. Hagrid should know where. Heck, I wouldn't even have put it past him to take it out on occasion!
You will notice that a small mark will appear next to each of the listings as everyone signs their documents. Please do not sign yours until everyone else has finished. It makes things easier in the long run.
I do not want a single Knut to go to the Ministry as part of an unclaimed inheritance. You may think my insistence odd, but I found it highly coincidental that Fudge would quietly push through a banking reform measure only days after I escaped from Azkaban. He knew that I hadn't had the time or ability to write a will while I was in Azkaban. All that money sitting in my vault was obviously too great a temptation for him. Was it any wonder he issued orders to kill me on sight?
Imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning in one of my early hiding spots to find a letter from Gringotts explaining the change in banking law. On that note Harry, I strongly encourage you to write a will yourself.
You're going to be a very wealthy man by the end of the day, so you're going to want to make sure it's safe when you leave this world. There are plenty of Fudges and Malfoys out there, so make sure your money goes where you want it to. And don't fuss too much about exactly how to divide it. You can always change your mind later. And if you do it by owl (or tropical bird) like I did, it's really easy. So no excuses!
Remember that life here is but a blink of an eye compared that to which waits for us beyond, regardless of whether you live to be twenty or two hundred twenty. I think Dumbledore once called it the "next great adventure." While you're HERE, make the most of this adventure.
And make sure you kick Voldemort's arse for me!
P.S. By the way, I lied about refused gifts going to my other two cousins. Anything refused will go to you. Actually, I did have this set up like that once. But now that this thing with Percy Weasley has come up, I had to take that out since I knew there was a good chance he would not be here today. If he's here today, great. If he's not, oh well, it's his loss. I just REALLY didn't want all that money going to my other cousins. As long as you claim your "balance of Estate," Fudge won't get anything.
Love forever,
Sirius
Included with the letter was a summary schedule that listed all of the actual disbursements.
Gringotts Bank
Black Estate
Article A: One property, attached house, and non-itemized contents contained therein: 12 Grimmauld Place. (77,515 Galleons)
Article B: One magical motorized vehicle. (2,602 Galleons)
Article C: Sealed box containing non-itemized jewelry, Gringotts Vault 711. (500 Galleons [deposited/value declared by A.P.W.B.D.])
Article D: Moneys, Gringotts Vault 711. (1,367,973 Galleons)
Total Value of Estate (as of 1 August, 1996): 1,448,590 Galleons.
Disbursements:
[ ] Granger, Hermione: 50,000 Galleons.
[X] Hagrid, Rubeus: 10,000 Galleons. (Contacted, To be Signed by Owl, Allocated)
[X] Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (c/o MM): 100,000 Galleons. (Student Scholarships)
[X] Lupin, Remus: 100,000 Galleons; Articles A, B, & C, to be placed in Trust until Harry James Potter's seventeenth birthday.
[X] Ministry of Magic (c/o AB): 10 Galleons.
[X] Order of the Phoenix (c/o MM): 10,000 Galleons. (Business Use Only)
[X] Tonks, Nymphadora: 75,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley, Arthur & Molly: 75,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley, Bill: 10,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley, Charlie: 10,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley, Fred: 10,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley, George: 10,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley, Ginny: 10,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley, Percy: 10,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley, Ron: 25,000 Galleons.
[ ] Weasley Wizard Wheezes: 5,000 Galleons. (Business Use Only)
===
[ ] Potter, Harry: Balance of Estate (currently 1,072,963 Galleons)
Harry watched for a few minutes as marks slowly appeared by the rest of the names on the list and his balance recalculated (not that he really cared about the amount; it was just interesting to watch).
Before they could sign, each of the Weasley children had to go and get their own vaults; Arthur and Molly were the last ones to sign, excluding Harry. By now, Hermione had returned to her seat; he could feel her watching him, waiting for him sign his name and make his promise. The time had come. He looked at the list one last time. Every name had a mark by it, except his; he was now down to (only) 857,963 Galleons.
As he looked at the list, he suddenly realized that there was something strange about his balance. Setting Sirius's letter aside for a moment, he held the summary schedule out to Hermione.
"Does this make sense?" he whispered to her as quietly as he could; he hoped Darmok wouldn't hear. The last thing he wanted was to make the goblins think he was accusing them of something.
Hermione started looking down the list of bequests. He trusted her not to say anything about what everyone else got. Since she'd never seemed to care how much money he had, he didn't care if she saw how much he got either.
"Look at my balance," Harry indicated, since it seemed she was still trying to figure out what he was concerned about.
"The value of the estate ends in a zero. All of the bequests end in zeros, so should my balance end in a zero also? It ends with a three. So doesn't that mean there are at least seven Galleons missing?" he finished, keeping his voice as quiet as possible.
"Oh, I see," Hermione said, now that she knew what she was looking for.
She looked over the numbers for a few moments. "No, here it is, Harry," she said finally, pointing at the sheet. "Technically, the property, motorbike, and jewelry are going to Remus to be put into trust until you are seventeen. See? They've deducted those three items from your balance. Looks like all of that is entirely cash. That way, you don't have to have your uncle's signature," Hermione explained.
"Oh, thanks," Harry said gratefully. Maybe he needed to revise his earlier feelings about money: he understood it when it was a couple Galleons in his pocket, not when it was nearly a million and a half on paper.
If everything made sense to Hermione, then Harry trusted that everything was in order. He knew he had two things left to do; he did the easy one first and walked up to the table. Grabbing the inked quill, he signed his name on the letter.
As soon as the ink dried a few moments later, all of the signed portions of the letters, including his, refolded, and then stacked themselves up in front of Darmok. Taking the stack, he bid everyone a good day, told them they were welcome to remain in the conference room until the bank opened in half an hour, and then quietly left.
Wanting to delay the second thing he had to do, Harry decided to walk around the room for a bit and talk for a while. He knew Hermione would not let him leave the room without making his promise.
Remembering her smile, Harry first headed over to Madam Bones to ask her what she was going to do with her ten Galleons. As he walked up to her, the same smile as before appeared on her face.
"Well, I must confess, Harry, your godfather certainly did not disappoint me. I shall have to take a closer look at a couple things when I get back. Do you know, he even left the Ministry ten Galleons for us to go buy a compass and a map to help us find our own...? Well, I don't think you need me to finish that sentence."
She looked at Sirius's letter one more time, and then led Harry to a quiet corner of the room. "Now, please forgive me for being so bold, but there is something that I must impress upon you. We will never be able to prove what Cornelius's motivations were for pushing through his little foray into financial fine print.
"That said, considering the times we are in, I feel that, temporarily, this may be for the best. I would feel better knowing that unclaimed finances are floating around the Ministry, rather than into the hands of Death Eaters. Money rarely stays idle for long, especially when it's unclaimed.
"If there is one thing government is good for, it's bureaucracy," she said with a hint of a smile. "We may not be able to stop all Death Eater financing, but at least we can tie up unclaimed money in so much red tape that it's as good as useless to them. Now, to my point. While I like the idea of keeping money out of You-Know-Who's hands, I'd much rather it go to wherever it was supposed to in the first place. Please, Harry, make arrangements should that time ever come to keep your money in the right hands."
Harry nodded slightly, still not liking the idea of having to do something like that any more than he did when Sirius told him.
Madam Bones nodded. "Good man," she praised him, and then led him back towards everyone else. Once she had rejoined her Auror escorts and indicated to them that she was ready to leave, she turned to Harry again.
"Care to make a wager, Mr. Potter, as to whether Mrs. Malfoy will be outside the bank, waiting for me?" Harry looked at her curiously. "She stopped by my office first thing this morning. She said it was vital that I attend her husband's hearing today at Azkaban. No, it's not that kind of hearing," she assured him at seeing the worried look on his face.
"He requested a meeting this afternoon, claiming he had valuable information he was willing to offer freely as a sign of good faith, and with the hope that certain accommodations... at least be considered." Madam Bones' level of belief in Lucius's sincerity was readily evident.
"Actually, I'm quite glad I came here this morning. It gave me a ready excuse to avoid the journey out to Azkaban. I'd already rescheduled one of my normal morning meetings to this afternoon, at the same time as his hearing. Had I refused for no reason, she might have tried to make an issue of it. You know as well as I the likelihood of Lucius betraying... Voldemort..." she said, wincing. Apparently, the Headmaster was trying to get her to use his name as well.
"We know he's not likely to betray his master for a cell with a better view and a more comfortable bed. Fortunately my successor, Rufus, is going out there today anyway to supervise the processing of eight new prisoners. I asked him to pay Lucius a visit and notify me if he seemed genuine. Needless to say, I don't expect to hear from him today," she finished with a knowing smile.
"If that is all, Harry, I will bid you good day then. I do have a small amount of paperwork awaiting my return." Halfway to the door, she snapped her fingers and suddenly turned around.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Harry. I forgot about your awards this morning. I could have brought them with me and given them to all of you today," Madam Bones explained, looking regretful.
"No worries, Minister," Harry replied shaking his head as he smiled. "I've never been one to accept praise eagerly."
"Maybe," Amelia replied thoughtfully, "but sometimes it's more important that praise be given than it is for it to be accepted. Unfortunately, for me to give that praise, you're going to have to accept it." Harry thought about what she said then nodded finally.
"Good. Just stop by the Ministry when you have some free time and we'll have you properly cited. Alas, this is more of desk job than my previous, so I don't get out much anymore. If I happen to be in a meeting when you stop by, just leave a note with my assistant, wander around for a while, and they'll call you when I'm free. You shouldn't have to wait too long. I try to keep meetings as short as they're productive," she explained.
Harry had to think about that one for a few moments. By the time he figured out what she meant, the Minister and her escorts were already out the door. Turning back to the group, he noticed his Head of House approaching him with several pieces of parchment.
"Mr. Potter, I still have not received your completed timetable," she greeted him, cutting right to the chase.
"I know, Professor. I forgot," Harry admitted.
"Not an auspicious beginning for a new prefect," she admonished him.
"No, Professor," he agreed. Part of him actually felt relieved by this. While the smiling, friendly Head of House routine was nice during her earlier visit and his party, this was the professor he was used to.
"You do realize that the amount of homework assigned will not lessen just because you were late in selecting your classes?" she asked.
"Yes, Professor," he replied.
Professor McGonagall stood for a moment, scrutinizing him until he felt sufficiently guilty.
"Very well," she replied, then handed him the top piece of parchment of the stack she'd been carrying. It was a duplicate of his timetable. The way she remained standing in front of him, looking at him, clearly indicated that he was to complete it before he left. After nodding, he went and sat down at the table while she went to talk with the Weasleys, presumably about Ron's O.W.L.s and classes.
Harry stared at his timetable for several minutes, hoping it would magically fill itself in. All N.E.W.T. level classes were double classes. So, assuming he took the required classes to become an Auror, that meant double periods of Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and of course, Potions. Joy!
The only problem was that he was still left with several openings. Harry considered his options. He was none too thrilled with the idea of more Care of Magical Creatures. One year of Blast-Ended Skrewts was more than enough, thank you very much. And besides, what Harry enjoyed most about the class was Hagrid, certainly not his latest "Isn' it beau'iful?" find. There'd be plenty of time to spend with Hagrid outside of class, wouldn't there?
As other thoughts of fourth year swirled around his mind, he suddenly realized he could take Herbology. His "E" was enough to qualify him for that class. Remembering his run-in with gillyweed that year, the fact that he hadn't known anything about it was enough to cause him to write it down. One down, Harry thought to himself.
The thought that popped into his mind next surprised even himself. What about Divination?
Now that there was a real prophecy hanging over his head, Harry decided he ought not to be so dismissive of the subject. Besides, with Firenze expected to be sharing the teaching responsibilities with Professor Trelawney (much to the delight of many of the female students), he supposed that it could only be an improvement over his first three years of the subject. He smiled as he suddenly had a vision of Ron's tea leaves spelling out die, Ron, die, as Ron had once joked.
The only problem with that however was his abysmal O.W.L. score. No N.E.W.T. class would accept a "P." If he really wanted to take Divination, he'd have to retake the O.W.L. class. His only consolation for that possibility was that if he did, he at least would not be in a class with a bunch of fifth years. O.W.L. classes for sixth and seventh year students were separate from the fifth year O.W.L. classes.
"It's quite simple really. Think of it like this," Harry remembered Hermione explaining about class selections that day their O.W.L.s arrived. "Getting your fifth year O.W.L. is like graduating from Muggle high school. It's the big push for everyone to do. N.E.W.T.s, on the other hand, are like a university major subject: it's in relation to what you expect your career to be.
"An O.W.L. class in your sixth or seventh year is like a university minor subject. It's thought of as supplementing or rounding out your N.E.W.T.s. Not entirely accurate mind you, but a close enough analogy.
"For one thing, an O.W.L.'s an O.W.L. regardless of what year you get it. The only difference is that since so much emphasis is placed on 'getting your fifth year O.W.L.s,' they keep those classes fifth-year only. Since there are fewer students in six-seven O.W.L.s, they allow sixth years and seventh years to take them together... though... I suppose that's obvious." Harry smiled as he remembered the little embarrassed smile on her face as she admitted the redundancy in her explanation.
And now that he thought about it, he was quite sure Professor McGonagall had said the exact same thing sometime at the end of last year when she discussed their impending O.W.L. exams and the procedures for the beginning of sixth year. For some reason though, it didn't make sense until Hermione explained it. Probably 'cause I was actually paying attention to Hermione, Harry thought to himself.
So... did he want to take Divination again? More trips into the forest-classroom, listening to Firenze downplaying his own predictions? More reading tea leaves and making dream charts? NO! Harry quickly decided as soon as "dream charts" entered his mind, even though he usually made them up anyway. He was none too eager to think about his dreams at the moment.
Now that that had returned to the forefront of his mind, another possibility suddenly occurred to him. It was a complete unknown to him, but the way it had been described, it couldn't have been that bad. Could it? While it had many applications, only a few of which involved divining the future, it certainly seemed better than staring at a crystal ball. Besides, if it got to be too much, he was certain he'd be able to find a tutor.
And so, with that and a small (okay, fine, LARGE) amount of trepidation, Harry re-inked the quill and wrote down his selection: O.W.L. Arithmancy. Whatever ended up happening, he was certain his feelings about it would not be ambivalent: he would love it or hate it. He'd find out in a month.
Since the Arithmancy class was O.W.L. level, it was also a double period; this left him with one free period first thing in the morning (YES! Harry thought to himself) and one free period immediately after lunch. There was no point (he saw) in taking Muggle Studies. He didn't want to take N.E.W.T. Care of Magical Creatures, and he was excluded from the N.E.W.T. Astronomy, History of Magic, and Divination classes.
So, short of retaking one of those O.W.L. classes, which he didn't want to do unless forced (to fill the free periods) he realized that there wasn't much else he could take. Once Professor McGonagall had finished with Ron, Harry nodded to her, asking her to come over; he handed her his timetable.
"I think this is everything I can take, Professor," Harry said, trying to steer her away from retaking some of his classes.
Professor McGonagall examined his schedule. "Arithmancy?" she asked with a doubtful look on her face.
Trying to think of a prophecy and not a tutor, Harry replied, "Well, it was that or Divination." McGonagall's opinion of Divination was evident as soon as he said the word. "You do know about the prophecy, don't you?" he added quietly.
"I know there is, or was, a prophecy, yes," she replied, her voice equally low. Her expression then... became less stern. "I must confess... I am pleased to see you taking an active role in dealing with this newest... piece to your puzzle. While I am dubious of Divination, I do know prophecies are real, so if this helps you at all, then so be it."
His Head of House continued to examine his schedule. "Well, considering your O.W.L. results, about the only other thing you could've taken was Care of Magical Creatures, but that is at the same time as Arithmancy."
Oh yeah! Harry remembered. He doubted Professor McGonagall would give him a Time Turner... not that he wanted one.
"And I see little point in you taking Muggle Studies," she continued. "Yes, I think this is about everything you can take this year.
"Since you now have prefect duties this year, I trust you will consider taking advantage of your free periods for your homework," she said, looking at him pointedly.
"Yes, Professor," Harry replied. He would... consider it.
"Very well, Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall put the last two pieces of parchment she was still carrying on top of his timetable, then tapped the whole stack with her wand. He could see the bottom sheet glow green where his newly selected classes filled themselves into his timetable. Once the glow died, she handed him all three sheets. The top two turned out to be his Hogwarts letter and book list and homework assignments.
"Good day, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall wished him, and then left the conference room. Harry slowly turned and headed over to where Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were. The remaining Weasleys had joined Lupin and Tonks with Dan and Emma on the other side of the room.
No one really seemed to want to talk about Sirius, though it was obvious he was on all of their minds. They ended up talking mostly about Fred and George's shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. That topic, however, was to soon dry up since it seemed pointless to talk about their latest creations without being able to show them, especially with their shop only right up the street.
Finally, right before the conversation ended, Ron pulled out his newly obtained vault key and started fiddling with it absently. "I wonder how much it would cost to buy Honeydukes..." he mused aloud.
"Thinking of going into business already?" Fred asked his younger brother, actually looking half-impressed.
"Are you kidding?" Ron asked, stunned. "No, for all their candy, of course! Haven't you been paying attention all these years?"
"You're not seriously going to take the money Sirius left you and use it to stuff your face and buy a new Firebolt, are you?" Hermione asked him disbelievingly.
Ron started chuckling. "Seriously, the money Sirius left me," he mimicked back. "What's the point of having all this money if you're not going to spend it? A Firebolt?! Didn't think about that!" Ron stood for a moment and thought about it with a dreamy look on his face.
"Oh come on, Hermione! Don't tell me you're not going to go out and buy about a million books with yours! Oh yeah, how much did you get, anyway?" he asked eagerly.
"What I got is none of your business, Ronald!"
Ron leaned towards Harry and spoke in a whisper that was loud enough for the six of them to hear. "Guess she only got ten thousand too."
For the briefest of moments, Harry thought that Hermione looked as though she was about to tell Ron exactly how much Sirius left to her. He knew Ron would love that.
"Believe it or not, but I won't be going out and buying 'about a million books,'" she said acidly. "I might buy one or two, however." Ron laughed in victory.
"And then," she continued, doing her best to ignore the laugh, "I'll repay my father for Harry's present and-"
"Your dad bought Harry's present?" Ron interrupted in shock.
"Of course he did," Hermione retorted. "When we were at the store, I didn't have enough money with me, so he paid for it, then. And now, I'm repaying him. It was my present, after all. And then, the rest stays in my vault until I need it."
"Well... I need some Chocolate Frogs," Ron replied resolutely.
"Money like this doesn't come along everyday, you know. Spend your money however you want, Ron. It's yours."
Ron's earlier look of victory was fast fading. Harry had the impression that Ron no longer felt that he came out on top of that little exchange. Then again, how often did he?
"Well," Ron said lamely, his mood now thoroughly dampened, "now that we have our book lists, I suppose we ought to go buy our books. At least get that over with. Though, just because we buy our books, doesn't mean we need to do our homework, does it?" he asked Harry with a wink as his spirits picked back up again.
"Oh, honestly Ronald," Hermione interjected exasperatedly. "It wouldn't kill you, you know, to get your homework done early for a change. That way, once you're done, you'll have the rest of the holiday free to do whatever you want... with no thought of homework until school starts."
Secretly, Harry had to agree with Hermione's reasoning. He still disliked homework as much as ever, but having actually gotten it done early, for once, the idea of a free holiday with... all three Grangers... was very appealing. He doubted Ron would believe him, but at least he didn't have to find out.
"Oh, honestly Hermione," Ron mimicked back, sounding annoyed at the mere mention of homework with an entire month of holiday remaining, "it probably wouldn't kill me, but why take that chance?" he asked rather smugly. "No offense, but just because Harry is trapped there, it doesn't mean I am too. I'm sure I'll manage perfectly fine on my own, thank you very much."
"'Trapped?' 'Trapped?' Is that what you think?" Harry could see Hermione's ire quickly step up several levels. She looked quite upset, even by her standards. "Just because YOU-"
"Okay, okay!" Harry interrupted, stepping between them. "Boy, look at the time," he said as he grabbed Hermione by the arms and quickly led her away from Ron. "I think we ought to be heading down to the vaults so we can buy our books and then visit Fred and George's shop. Mr. and Mrs. Granger?" Harry called to get their attention, "I think I still owe you some money from earlier."
Dan and Emma, seeing Harry dragging Hermione away from Ron, immediately cottoned on. "Ah, yes, of course, Harry," Dan replied. "Nice to talk to you again Arthur," he said very quickly as he and Emma walked hurriedly towards the door. "If we run into you in the bookstore, remind me to tell you about answering machines." And as quickly as that, Harry and the Grangers were gone.
Back in the conference room, Ginny turned to Ron and smacked him on the arm as the remaining Weasleys and Tonks and Lupin came over.
"Brilliant, Ronald!" Ginny chastised him. "I don't know how you ever expect her to fancy you if you keep doing stupid things like that!"
Ron's ears turned slightly red. "I don't know where you get ideas like that," he said awkwardly.
"Oh, come on, ickle Ronniekins," Fred goaded him. "It isn't like subtlety is one of your strong suits."
"Okay fine," Ron admitted, "maybe, at one point, I thought I fancied her, but not anymore. Besides, I think I prefer good looking blondes," he said with an odd smile and a slightly far away look.
"Ooooo," Fred and George both teased as Bill playfully punched him on the arm.
"What the bloody hell was that for?" Ron asked as he rubbed his arm. "I wasn't talking about Fleur," he said defensively.
"Yeah right," Ginny retorted. Suddenly, she, Fred, and George all quickly looked at each other. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Ginny instead cast a wicked smile at her twin brothers. All three silently agreed to not say anything for now, saving it for a more... opportune moment. Ron, of course, noticed none of this.
* * *
As he continued to lead Hermione through the lobby of the bank over to the tellers, Harry wondered slightly why that little "discussion" had escalated so quickly. Feeling it not the best time to ask her, he decided to allow his curiosity to remain unsatisfied for the moment. Before walking up to one of the tellers, he turned to Dan.
"How much do I owe you for clothes and food and stuff?" he asked.
"Well, as for food, you're our guest, so that's covered. As for 'clothes and stuff,' here you go." Dan retrieved from his wallet three sales receipts from the department store and home improvement store. "I knew you'd insist on paying every penny, so I kept these for you."
Harry blinked when he saw the receipts for his clothes, shoes, and Neville's birthday present: together, they were nearly £150. He knew he could easily afford it; he was just surprised it was so much. Then again, six shirts, four pairs of jeans, two pairs of shorts (which he still hadn't worn yet), one eight-pack of socks, two three-packs of underwear, two pairs of shoes, and one Venus Flytrap tended to add up rather quickly.
"Do you mind if I round this up to an even one-fifty?" Harry asked Dan. "It makes the conversion a little easier." Dan shook his head to indicate he didn't mind. "Do you want to come see the vaults? It's quite a ride," he offered eagerly.
"No, I think they'd prefer to stay here," Hermione answered for her parents. Harry looked at her questioningly. She lowered her voice. "Dad tends to get motion sick sometimes." Not low enough, obviously.
"I heard that!" Dan replied. Emma grinned and turned to her husband.
"Do you want to go down?" she asked him knowingly.
Dan acted as if he hadn't heard her. "I have decided that we shall remain here," he said proudly and confidently.
"Uh huh," Hermione replied. She and Harry then walked over to one of the goblins to get a cart to take the ride down. Hermione knew all about the carts, but had never before ridden in one. She must have felt the breakneck speeds a little too much like flying for she held tightly onto Harry's arm the entire way down to her new vault. Halfway there, she evidently tired of muttering how much she didn't like it, for she stopped and actually opened her eyes.
On the way down, Harry caught sight of the level at which they'd stopped a few years earlier. Mrs. Weasley had to empty out the family vault to pay for five children in school during second year. It was on one of the upper levels (and there was never an easy way to say it) where the smaller vaults were. They'd certainly need to be moved to a lower level this year.
During the past few weeks, Harry had come to realize that money was not a big issue for Hermione or her parents. They did have to work for their money, but they did "do okay," as she put it. And being dentists, their livelihoods were secure.
That said, when the goblin attendant opened the door to Hermione's new vault, number five hundred three, the sight of fifty thousand gold Galleons before her caught her by surprise slightly. Taking out her money bag, she grabbed enough to repay her father, cover her school supplies, and leave her with some pocket money for the rest of the holiday.
As the two of them climbed back into the cart, Hermione again clamped onto Harry's arm. After breathing in deeply through her nose twice, she turned to the goblin operating the cart. "Let's go," she said, and gave Harry a weak smile.
"Just think of it like a roller coaster," he suggested. She nodded and the cart started to move. By the end of the short ride, she too was screaming in excitement with Harry at the hairpin turns.
"There, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" he asked as they climbed out and walked up to vault six hundred eighty-seven. He took out his key and looked at it for a moment.
"Key please," the goblin asked; Harry gave it to him (he never did get this goblin's name).
After five full years of school, Harry was used to seeing stacks and stacks of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts piled in his vault. There was always enough in there that the piles hardly ever seemed to shrink. But when the door opened this time, even he was stunned.
It was obvious that his vault had been reorganized, either by goblin or magic (or goblin magic). His original inheritance from his parents-the mounds of gold, columns of silver, and heaps of bronze-was now all neatly stacked up on the right side of his vault. Almost all of the Sickles and Knuts had been converted into Galleons to free up space. The reason space was needed was on the other side of the vault.
The balance of the Black Estate had been moved into Harry's vault, on the left side. While he'd never before counted his money, nor ever made any other attempt to quantify it, it was now patently obvious that the amount his parents left him was only slightly less than what Sirius did.
Piled high in neat stacks against the left wall were 857,963 gold Galleons. Harry walked up to the pile with his mouth open in unhidden shock. The coins were so perfectly stacked that he was actually afraid to touch them lest he knock them over. He walked around the three sides, just to make sure it was real.
The stacks of Galleons stood out more than two and-a-half feet deep from the wall, and were more than nine feet wide and almost six feet tall. Conveniently, the inheritance from his parents was the exact same size, except about six inches shorter.
At the very back of the vault between the two piles of coins stood a small wooden table. Sitting on the table was a beautiful wooden box and another letter, addressed to him. Recognizing the loopy handwriting immediately, he looked back to the box. He suddenly remembered something from the schedule on the will.
Article C: Sealed box containing non-itemized jewelry, Gringotts Vault 711. (500 Galleons [deposited/value declared by A.P.W.B.D.])
Harry returned his attention to the letter and opened it.
Dear Harry,
The night they learned they were marked for death, James and Lily asked that I do something very important for them: they asked that I keep this box, your mother's jewelry box, safe.
They put in there several items that they desperately wanted you to have should the worst actually occur. It is a good thing they did. I am sorry to say that by the time I got out there, many of your family's valuable items had already disappeared, presumably thanks to "souvenir" seekers. Suffice it to say, I am confident that the items your parents felt irreplaceable were kept safe. Everything else is excess.
When I went out there that fateful night, it took a while, but I finally found the box in your room. They'd hidden it in the dresser drawer containing all of your freshly laundered nappies, of all places.
I am writing this letter to you now during your fourth year to tell you about this box. I intended to add this letter to the contents of the box, however I confess that I have been unable to open it to do so. As such, I am certain it will be just fine on top of the box.
I have been in contact with Sirius. He has generously volunteered to take it into his possession so that he may give it to you when he feels the time is right. He has authorized me to have it deposited in his vault for safe keeping.
For nearly the past thirteen years, this box has sit upon a shelf in my private quarters, a reminder to me of the good friends I lost that night. So, tomorrow, it is with a slightly heavy heart that I head down to Gringotts and say goodbye to your parents one last time.
I do not know what you will find in here, though I do have some suspicions. Just know that your parents wanted you to have everything contained within. If I am right, I also know that they would have been honored if you ever chose to use anything that you find in here.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore.
Harry set the letter down and looked at the box more closely. The sides and top were adorned with ornate decorations of sculpted wood. On the top of the box was a circular area in the design of the carvings. Engraved in that space were an intertwined "JP" and "LP."
He could not see any seam where a lid or door might be. Knowing that things were not always as they appeared, he took hold of it and simply attempted to open it as if there was a lid. Nothing happened.
While on the one hand he was disappointed that he could not open it (for now), he was also slightly heartened since it suggested the contents were still secure inside. He looked at the letter one last time.
I am confident that the items your parents felt irreplaceable were kept safe. Everything else is excess.
He did feel a little better. Turning around, he found Hermione directly behind him, with her back to him. She was standing in front of his original stack of money, holding two Galleons, one in each hand. Lifting them up and down alternately, it looked as if she was trying to see if one was heavier than the other.
"What're you doing?" Harry asked, amused and curious.
"Oh! I was just wondering... I mean, if all these Galleons were actually made of gold instead of just gold-colored metal... how much would it all weigh?"
Harry immediately began to laugh. "Oh Hermione! Have I ever told you how much I... how you never cease to amaze me? Here we are, standing in front of what, by all rights, is an immense fortune, and all you want to know much it would weigh if it was actually made of gold!"
Because he was laughing, Hermione had a slight smile on her face, but her expression was still guarded as if she wasn't sure exactly how he meant it.
"Please, don't ever change!" he finally said after a few more laughs. Walking past her, still clutching Dumbledore's letter, he returned his attention to the nearly perfect rectangular pile of Galleons that was Sirius's estate... now his. He just stared at the stack in disbelief: a foot and a half feet deep, four feet wide and six feet tall. He really didn't care how many were there... but Holy Merlin! That was a lot of Galleons. And there was another stack almost as big directly behind him!
I wonder how much these'd all be worth if they WERE made of gold? he thought, now that Hermione had planted the idea in his mind. Though he didn't know any specifics, he did know that the value of gold was such that if a Galleon coin was made of solid gold, it would be worth a whole lot more than five pounds. There's no way the goblins would miss that little detail.
His pecuniary pondering was cut short by a gasp behind him.
"Oh... Harry... They're beautiful!" Hermione whispered in awe. He quickly turned around to see Hermione standing in front of his mother's jewelry box; she was blocking his view. Taking several great strides, he came to her side as rapidly as possible. Now standing next to her, he could see what was so beautiful.
His mother's jewelry box was open. His mind in a jumble and not working at optimum performance, he reached over and shut the lid without even looking inside.
"What did you do?" he asked in shock. Only after the words left his mouth did he realize that they might have sounded harsher than he meant them. Hermione's eyes suddenly widened in fear and regret.
"Oh, Harry. I'm SO sorry," she said, wringing her hands in anxiety. "I didn't realize what it was. Please... I wasn't trying to snoop..."
Seeing how upset she was, Harry immediately took hold of her hands to calm her. "No, no, no, no," he said very quickly, trying to explain. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant it literally. What did you do? I couldn't open it when I was looking at it."
Hermione seemed to calm down immediately; Harry let go of her hands. "When you stepped away from it, I was wondering what you were looking at. I just walked up to it and touched the box to see what it was. The lid suddenly appeared and... I opened it," she admitted in guilt.
"I wasn't really thinking about whether I should or not. It was just sort of a reflex, you know? A lid suddenly appears on a sealed box. You just have to open it. I guess I just figured that you would have said something if I wasn't supposed to look at it. I'm sorry, Harry," she apologized again.
"It's okay," he replied, trying to smile. "Hey... at least now it's open and I can see what's in there," he said, looking at the box with a fair amount of excitement.
"What... is it?" Hermione asked tentatively, as she slowly reached toward the box again.
"My mother's jewelry box," Harry replied simply. Hermione immediately retracted her arm.
"I can't... I shouldn't," she answered when he looked at her inquisitively. "It's your mum's.... you should open it." He reached for the box... the lid was still there. Something was bothering him though.
"How come you were able to open it, but I couldn't?" he asked her.
"You said it was your mother's, right?" she asked uncertainly. "It's a woman's jewelry box. Since it was sealed, maybe you have to have a female to open it, to unseal it." Hermione didn't seem too confident about her theory; in fact she seemed rather uneasy about the whole thing.
Since it was the most reasonable answer he could hope to get, Harry accepted it, not wanting to question it any further. Taking hold of the lid, he lifted; it opened. He drew the box closer so he could he see it better.
Now, Harry would be the first to admit (if asked) that he knew hardly anything about jewelry. But, Hermione was right: the contents of the box were beautiful.
Resting on the top were two necklaces of different styles. One appeared to be made of silver and had a small emerald pendant on it. Knowing how many times he'd been told he had his mother's eyes, he recognized the exact shade of green immediately: it was the same color as his eyes also. The other necklace was gold with a ruby pendant. Gryffindor colors, Harry suspected, or a ruby to compliment her hair.
Beneath the necklaces (the box contained stacking layers of lined boxes) were several pairs of earrings. Beneath them, in the bottom box, were two small velvet-covered boxes, one about twice the size of the other. Harry's breathing stopped for a moment. He'd seen boxes like this on television advertisements enough times to know what was in them.
As he slowly reached for the box, he noticed that it was absolutely silent in the vault; Hermione was holding her breath too. Once he stared at the black velvet box sufficiently long enough, and feeling the need to breathe again, he finally opened it.
The glow of gold and sparkle of diamond greeted him. It was his mother's engagement ring. A simple, but beautiful gold band with a single flawless diamond. In the larger box were two gold wedding bands.
Harry quickly began to feel awkward standing in front of the jewelry box. Looking at wedding rings with Hermione was just a little too much for him to take just yet. Sure, he wasn't looking for a ring, but still... the whole situation just felt a little too... weighted.
He closed both ring boxes, and put them back in their shelf. As he did, he noticed that the shelf wasn't sitting level, even though it was the bottom one. It was as if it was sitting on something. Lifting up the bottom shelf, he found a small envelope with his name on it in handwriting he did not recognize.
When he opened the sealed Muggle envelope, he found two brief notes inside along with a second sealed envelope.
Harry,
When we learned that we were running out of time, we wanted to make absolutely sure certain things were kept safe. If you are reading this, then I am relieved to know that they have. Obviously by now, you've already seen everything else in here. It our sincerest hope that if you ever find a use for anything in this box that you do so. It would make us so proud of you, our only son.
Love, Dad
My dearest son,
Your father deftly handled the contents of my jewelry box, so I wanted to tell you about this envelope. When Professor Dumbledore brought us the news, one of the things we did was send all of our family photographs to our friends, to keep them safe. All except for these. These are the few that we did not. Your father and I (with a smile) felt that you might not appreciate it if we sent these out. So we decided to leave them in here for you. It is our hope that they bring you a smile or two when you need it most.
Love forever,
Mum
Inside the second envelope he found two wizarding photographs. The first one was of what he assumed to be himself crawling on the floor, in a circle around his father and Sirius, chasing after a Golden Snitch (at very slow speed). Sirius and James were sitting on the floor, watching him. Sirius appeared to be in riotous laughter; James was not quite as amused.
The reason for their expressions was easy to determine: baby-Harry was wearing a infant girl's dress... hopefully some joke on Sirius's part. The loop of the photograph lasted long enough that he was able to make it in a complete circle around the two in the middle. While at first James appeared annoyed, by the time Harry made it all the way around, he was laughing also. It also appeared that whoever was taking the picture (Lily probably) started laughing as well, for the picture began to shake slightly.
The second photograph was of a slightly older Harry, naked as the day he was born, being given a bath by Lily. As shampoo suds clung to his head, he appeared to be giggling as Lily would slap the water in front of him, splashing him. Harry would then try to do the same back. As sixteen year-old Harry watched, he wasn't sure whether to laugh or be embarrassed.
Hermione's voice decided for him. "What are they, Harry?"
He quickly stuffed the pictures back in the envelope. "Nothing," he said lamely, his face turning slightly red. Hermione just looked at him.
"Okay, fine. They're pictures. Baby pictures... of me," he said. Hermione's face softened as if it was the cutest thing she'd ever heard.
"Embarrassing baby pictures," he clarified, hoping she'd get the hint that he didn't intend on showing them to her.
"Oh," she said, looking slightly amused. "I have some of those too. Bath time, or dinner time?" she asked knowingly.
"Bath time," he gritted out. Hermione smirked.
"Mine are of my first run in with chocolate cake," she said, looking a little embarrassed. "I think they said I was two. I think there's some law that says parents have to take embarrassing baby pictures.
"And there's a couple of me in the bath too," she admitted. "They'd tried so long to have a child when I finally came along that they decided to photograph everything. Everything.
"FORGET IT, HARRY!" Hermione said when she saw the look on his face. "You're not seeing them... unless you show me yours." Harry shook his head. "Didn't think so," she responded triumphantly. "Besides, I don't even know where they are anymore.
"Mum and Dad hid them so that I wouldn't 'accidentally lose' them," she explained and then let out a little laugh. "They told me after second year that if ever I brought a boy home to them, that I be sure I really fancied him, since they would drag out all the baby photos and proceed to embarrass me to death."
Harry put on a very innocent smile then pointed to himself. "Brought home as a boyfriend, Harry. As a boyfriend," she said exasperatedly, thought she was still smiling.
"I know, I know. I was just kidding," he replied. "Had to try."
"You know, as much as I'm sure you'd love to carry those pictures around with you," Hermione started, "you should probably leave them here. Technically, they're not yours until you turn seventeen. I doubt we'd be chased out of here by a giant boulder like in Raiders of the Lost Ark if you did remove them, but still..." she said, trailing off.
"Raiders of the lost arc?" Harry asked.
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Oh, Harry. I guess we have some more movie nights coming up for you."
Harry replaced the two notes and photographs into the larger envelope, then put it back on the bottom of the box. He then replaced all of the boxes of jewelry, and closed the lid. As he did, he ran his hand across the sculpted lid. He had to do a double take when he looked at the engraving. Where it once was engraved with his parents' initials, it was now engraved with "HJP."
Sighing at the sight of his initials, and deciding he'd had enough of jewelry and magical boxes for one day, Harry returned to his original pile of money, grabbed enough to cover all of his expected expenses, then walked out of his vault with Hermione right behind him.
The ride back up to the lobby was not a fast as the ride down, but it was still enjoyable. On the way up, as they approached the level they'd stopped at earlier, Harry could see torch light flickering ahead. Sitting on the tracks in front of them was another goblin cart. When they neared it, the second cart merely jumped off the track and onto a small ledge on the opposite side as the vaults.
Looking towards the vaults, he saw eight open vaults, all side-by-side. When they finally reached them, he could see the entire Weasley family huddled around the first one; Arthur and Molly were standing inside the vault talking. The effect of the doorway directing the sound straight out, combined with the fact that they were moving allowed Harry to only hear a brief snippet of what was being said as they passed by.
"... this money, Ronald..." Molly lectured. It was enough to get a general idea of the conversation.
Once back in the lobby, Harry and Hermione looked to see where Dan and Emma were. They found them on one of the marble benches, trying to look as though they were actually comfortable sitting on the slab of calcium carbonate. They eagerly got up to join the two teenagers.
"Ready to go?" Emma asked.
"Almost," Harry replied, looking over to the row of teller windows. The bank would open in about ten minutes; he wanted to get his Galleons exchanged as soon as possible. Since it was the first of the month, and a Friday no less, he expected the bank would be very busy today.
Walking up to the counter where a goblin had arrived for his shift early, Harry handed him fifty Galleons to convert to pound notes. That would be enough to cover his clothes and leave him with about one hundred pounds for the rest of the summer, in case he wanted to buy anything out in the Muggle world before they went back to school.
Since Galleon-pound exchange rates varied like any other currencies, the goblin returned with £253.12 (Gringotts kept the half penny). Hermione had to wait for Harry to finish his transaction before converting her Galleons as well. Upon seeing customers in the bank early, none of the other goblins appeared eager to approach their counters until ten o'clock actually arrived.
A few minutes later, the entourage of four was walking up the street, ready to do their shopping. Immediately upon turning a corner, they saw Lupin and Tonks sitting at an outside table in front of a restaurant, enjoying a late breakfast (or early lunch).
"Professor. Tonks," Harry called them. Tonks and Lupin turned to see who'd called their names.
"Wotcher Harry, Hermione!" Tonks greeted them.
"Hello, Miss Granger. Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Remus greeted them as well, then turned his attention squarely to Harry.
"Harry, Harry, Harry. How many times must I tell you? I'm no longer your professor. Please, it's just Remus."
"Yes, Remus," Harry replied reluctantly. "How are you doing?"
Harry's former professor looked at him for a moment. "Better now. Earlier, not so." His eyes then glanced towards his left slightly without turning his head. "But I've had some help. I'm getting through it... we're getting through it." Tonks, on Remus's left (now that he was turned facing Harry), nodded solemnly in agreement.
Harry turned his attention to Tonks and began to grin. "Tripsy?" he asked. Tonks began to turn red again; he knew it had nothing to do with her Metamorphmagus abilities. She cast a warning glare at Remus when he began to smile.
"That was Sirius's nickname for me. He liked to give everyone nicknames. Where do you think Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs came from, Mr. Prongs, Jr.?" Harry shook his head. He also noticed that she'd managed to omit the fourth Marauder (and he didn't care, either).
"Normally, he only used them for people he liked, but I guess he gave nicknames to his other cousins before they went their separate ways. I heard lots of... what did Professor Dumbledore call them... colorful metaphors? Anyway, I always heard lots of colorful metaphors attached to their names... Trixie and Cissy."
Tonks, Lupin, and Harry looked at Emma when she suppressed a laugh. "'Colorful metaphors.' It's from a movie," she tried unsuccessfully to explain.
"I've never been to a movie," Tonks said with a hint of regret. "I understand they're quite popular with Muggles. Are they any good?" she asked Dan.
"Some of them are very good. Some of them... enhhh," he said, making a face that indicated that some of them weren't that good.
"I went to a couple movies years ago," Lupin added suddenly, surprising everyone. "Back in the summer after sixth year, Lily asked all of us to come with her to see a movie. There was a very popular movie that had come out... May, I think. Her parents told her it was really good movie, but she couldn't go see it until we got home. Petunia wouldn't go with her, so she asked us to come."
Remus chuckled a little. "Ol' Peter didn't care too much for the villain in the movie. Said he scared him... the man in the black suit with the breathing problem... what was his name... Dark Vader?"
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Darth Vader? You guys went to see Star Wars? In the theaters?" Remus nodded. "I wish I could've seen it on the big screen," she added longingly. "What'd you think?"
"It was okay," Remus said casually.
"Okay? Just okay?" Hermione replied, almost offended. Dan and Emma seemed to share her sentiment.
"What? I'd never seen any movies before. I had nothing to compare it to," Remus defended. That didn't seem to placate Hermione any. "Fine, it was the best movie I'd ever seen," he offered. Hermione grudgingly accepted the answer.
"She asked us to go with her again when the second one came out. If Peter was scared of Darth Vader in the first one, he was terrified of him in the second one. Though... looking back, I suppose that he may have reminded him a bit much of Voldemort. Peter had already turned spy by then. But we didn't know that at the time, of course. This was, mind you, when Lily was seven months pregnant with Harry."
A fond look then appeared in Remus's eyes. "That reminds me. Your mother was none too happy with you at the time, Harry. She said you kept kicking her all throughout the movie. Near the end of the movie, you managed to kick in the general vicinity of her bladder, so she had to get up to use the loo.
"While she was gone, we learned that that guy was that kid's father. It was so funny. There was this collective gasp of shock throughout the entire cinema. Some guy down in the front row actually shouted out 'No!'"
Dan let out a laugh. "That could've been me!" he admitted in embarrassment. Seeing the disbelieving looks on Remus, Harry, and Hermione's faces, Dan sought to determine if this was a really scary coincidence. "You didn't see it in London, did you?"
"No, we watched it in the cinema nearest Godric's Hollow. Probably some other distraught individual," Remus said smirking, then resumed his story. "When your mum came back, she leaned over and whispered to James, asking if she missed anything while she was gone." Remus then began to laugh a little.
"Your father just turned to her, looking completely stunned," he continued. "I guess he was surprised by it too. Before he could say anything though, someone behind us shushed Lily. James never did tell her what she missed until they got home." He laughed again. "She made him take her back the very next day to see it again. Fortunately for you, Harry, you let her sit all the way through it the second time."
"Way to go, Harry!" Hermione chastised him after swatting him on the arm.
"Don't be so hard on him, dear," Emma said to Hermione. "You started crying three times throughout the movie. Fortunately for you, dear," she mimicked Remus, "that cinema had a crying room where your father and I could take you and finish watching the movie."
Harry turned and looked at Hermione with a big grin on his face. Remus then turned to her as well. "That was a great movie," he added with more enthusiasm. Tonks, smiling, glanced at her watch. A look of shock rapidly appeared on her face.
"Merlin's beard! I was supposed to be back at work four minutes ago!" She quickly finished off the last few pieces of fruit on her plate and then stood up and walked towards the center of the street. Remus stood up also and followed her as well. Apparating out so close to objects was generally not a good habit to get into, in the off chance that the person might be bounced back by an anti-apparation field.
"Thanks for breakfast, Remus. I didn't get to eat anything this morning before I left," Tonks said as she smiled slightly and put her hand on his arm.
"I know, I was there," he replied in a friendly voice. She stared at him for a moment, then cast an awkward glance towards Harry and Hermione. "See you later. Don't forget about tomorrow," she added quickly, then let go of his arm and apparated away.
Harry glanced quickly at Hermione with the faintest hint of a smile on his face. "I hope we didn't interrupt anything, Professor."
"What?" Remus asked absently, now turning his attention to Harry. "No, of course not," he replied, though he didn't quite meet Harry's eyes.
"So what're you doing tomorrow?" Harry asked in as innocent a voice as possible.
Remus still would not look him directly in the eye. "I'm just going out to buy some new clothes... now that I actually have some money to spend freely." He then looked at the clocks in the window of the clock repair shop on the other side of the street.
"Well, I probably should be off as well. I'll see you later, Harry. We have a few financial matters we need to discuss at some point... though there's no rush right now. Good day, Miss Granger." Remus then walked over to Dan and Emma and shook their hands.
"Good day, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. If I don't see you before school starts, let me just say again that it was very nice to meet you." Remus then turned and nodded to Harry, then apparated away.
"Nice man," Emma said.
"Charming young woman," Dan added.
"Are they... together?" Emma asked.
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno," he replied. "Nothing official, at least," he added.
"The two of them seem to get along pretty well, though," Hermione added. "That's always a good sign."
"Speaking of people getting along," Harry added to her, "were you all right earlier? Your 'discussion' with Ron seemed to escalate a little faster than usual."
"Of course, Harry," she answered a little too quickly. "Nothing's the matter. Just another Ron/Hermione moment," she added defensively.
"Hey, now," he said gently, putting his hand on her forearm. "I've been right in the middle of those moments for five years now. He said something that really bothered you. Don't tell me he didn't. I know you better than that."
Hermione quickly glanced at her parents, who were busy admiring the clocks through the window of the building next to them.
"Do you really care about what Ron does with his money?" Harry asked.
Hermione sighed. "It's not about the money, Harry. It's not about the homework, either." She paused for a moment, glancing at her parents again. "You don't feel trapped at my house, do you? Me making you do your homework and wash the dishes and all. I know you said you felt it was like home... but you could've just been being polite. I didn't really expect you to tell me if you were unhappy there."
A worried look appeared on her face. "Please Harry, tell me the truth. Do you feel trapped at my house? We can still move you in with the Weasleys if it would be better."
Harry could've laughed at the absurdity he felt at her statements, but he knew it would be taken wrong. He moved his hand from her forearm to her shoulder, then took hold of the other one to straighten her out and hold her still.
"Hermione, you of all people should know what it means to me to call a place a home. But let me just say it again to be absolutely clear: these past few weeks have been the best of my life. Period. No questions asked. I was trapped at the Dursleys. Now I feel as free as I could ever hope to be."
A relieved smile replaced the fear on Hermione's face. "You know, you never did make your promise to me," she said softly, still smiling. "The one Sirius told me to expect."
Remembering what Sirius wrote, what he asked of him, even the photograph of him laughing at baby-Harry crawling around in a dress, Harry's eyes began to warm up slightly. He closed his eyes for a moment as he replayed some of the words of the letter in his mind, watched the photograph again.
The act of closing his eyelids concentrated all the moisture that had begun to accumulate. As a result, when he reopened them, there was a single tear in the corner of each eye, waiting to fall. He gave a brave smile then finally spoke the words.
"I promise."
"Are you all right?" Hermione asked, repeating the question she'd asked on his first day at her house. Harry blinked a couple of times to clear his vision, concentrating the moisture even further.
"Yes," he finally answered as one of the tears began to roll down the side of his face. Hermione reached up with her left hand and brushed it away with her thumb.
"I'm still sad that he's gone, but I'm happier than I can ever remember being. I know that if I'd been stuck in Privet these last couple weeks, this'd probably be the worst day of my life. But instead... And I know that it's all because of you. Thank you so much."
Harry stood on the side of the street, looking at the most beautiful girl in the world. Her hand was still on the side of his face where she'd put it to brush away his tear. He found himself unconsciously leaning into it.
He sensed a strong feeling begin to well up inside of his chest. It was remarkable similar to that bubbly, giddy feeling he'd felt on his birthday, though much stronger in intensity. Hermione seemed to be getting closer. He was pretty sure he wasn't moving, and he didn't think that she was pulling him. It was simply as if the distance between them was decreasing on its own.
His eyes found themselves drawn to her eyes. There, he found the most beautiful color known to man: brown. He watched her. He watched her watch him.
His eyes were then drawn to her lips. He wanted to kiss her again. He needed to kiss her again. Nothing else mattered. And so, for the second time in two days, Harry Potter went to kiss his best friend.
"Harry!" Ron shouted out behind him innocently after turning the corner.
"Ron!" Harry and Hermione both gasped, snapping out of their respective dazes and releasing each other.
"DAMN IT!" Emma cursed, startling everyone.
A/N: One of my readers, Evernight, has made what I think is a totally AWESOME photo-manip based on a scene from this story. Click the link to check it out! Please leave a kind word if you like it. It made my day when I saw it! THANK YOU, Evernight!!
http://gallery.portkey.org/galleryView.php?viewDetails=780
Here are a few more (the search function doesn't work yet...).
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