As the wind flowed over the lake and around the tombstone of Albus Dumbledore, there was only one person there to see the new inscription being written. "He will live forever in the hearts of those he knew." As Harry watched the inscription being written, he knew that his fight hadn't been lost. He now just had to fight even harder to make sure that his memory of Dumbledore didn't die.
As he walked back to the castle, Harry decided that he had to take the fight out to Voldemort. When he entered the Great Hall, the only people left at the Gryffindor table were the seventh years and Ginny. Luna joined them as he sat down.
He nodded to everyone and started, "We have lost a great fighter today. Just know though when I was outside looking at his tombstone, a new inscription appeared. "He will live forever in the hearts of those he knew." That inscription made me realize that grieving is a waste of our time. We must bring the fight to Voldemort and strike hard."
Ron piped in, "We are with you Harry."
Harry nodded in thanks and continued, "Thanks Ron. I am going to ask you to make a very hard choice here. Please do not make it lightly or out of loyalty. I will not be returning to Hogwarts next term. Instead, I will be studying abroad for a year. Any of you who wish to join me may do so. I will be training myself in several types of martial arts and magic. I plan to fight hard and use every advantage I can. If that involves some Dark magic, I will use it. If you wish to come with me, stay seated. If you feel that it isn't right for you, then you are welcome to leave. I will understand either way."
As Harry waited, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, Dean, and Ginny got up. Everyone but Ginny left quietly, but she said "I'm sorry Harry. I don't think I can do that. It just seems to wrong to me. I hope you come back and fight soon though. We will try to do what we can while you are gone."
Harry looked at the remaining people and silently thought. This isn't going to be easy on any of us. I hope we can all handle it. He then said, "Everyone, pack your bags and meet me at the entrance to the Headmaster's Office in two hours. We will leave from there."
As the group dissipated, Hermione asked, "Harry, are you sure you want to do this? A lot can happen in the year we are gone. Wouldn't it be better for us to stay here?"
Harry looked down and quietly replied "No Hermione. Staying here would only bring Voldemort down on us when we aren't ready. We have to be away from the distractions. We can't keep running out to fight Voldemort. I trust Ginny and the Order to keep up the fight while we are gone. Voldemort can't end this without us and he will bide his time I believe. If not, then a lot of good people are going to die. Either way, people are going to die."
Hermione's expression hardened and she nodded in understanding. Ron just sat there with his face as hard as stone. He nodded to Harry and quickly left the Great Hall. Hermione still sat there with Harry. She then grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the Great Hall.
When they entered Gryffindor Tower, Ginny was sitting in a circle with the others talking quietly. As they passed, they nodded to Harry showing they would fight while he was gone.
As the moment passed, Harry and Hermione split up to enter their rooms and pack. Ron still had the steely look in his eyes when Harry entered his room and started to pack. Both finished quickly and together they went down to Common Room to wait for Hermione.
While the boys sat in their chairs, Harry was thinking about where they would go. Grimmauld Place was no longer safe, as Dumbledore was the Secret Keeper. Harry knew of nowhere else that they could go. He turned to Ron and asked "Ron, do you know of anywhere we could go to train? Grimmauld Place isn't safe for us anymore and I don't really know of anywhere else."
Ron thought for a minute and replied, "Harry, I remember hearing my mother talking about the Potter Estate one day. She said that when you turned seventeen or your guardian emancipated you, everything was yours. She also said that the Potter estate was one of the largest in the wizarding world. I'm sure that you own more properties than we know of. Since Dumbledore is dead, your guardian has to be either the Dursley's or McGonagall. You should talk to her about it."
Harry was surprised Ron knew this but said, "Wow, Ron. I didn't know you paid attention to stuff like that. I'm going to go talk to McGonagall now. Wait here for Hermione and then meet me outside the Headmaster's office at the appointed time."
Harry got up and left quickly, leaving Ron waiting for Hermione. Harry though had new admiration for Ron.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Harry stood in front of the Gargoyle, after telling it he wanted to speak to the Headmistress. He waited for almost three minutes before the Gargoyle stepped aside and Remus exited. He looked surprised to see Harry, but quickly stepped aside and allowed Harry to go up the stairs. Harry ran up the stairs and entered McGonagall's office.
He saw her behind her desk shifting through papers. He stood there until she waved him over. He sat down and she asked, "Harry, what can I do for you?"
Harry replied "I need to find out who my legal guardian is Professor. I need access to my accounts and properties. Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville and I won't be returning next term. We are going off to train and not in ways you could teach us. We need the money and properties tied up in those accounts Professor. The only way I can access that is if I am emancipated."
McGonagall quickly signed a piece of paper sitting on her desk and handed it to him. She said, "Dumbledore left this for me if you asked. He thought you might follow this path. He also left me a letter telling me to remind you that what you two pursued must also be found before the fight. I wish you would return next year as fighting Voldemort without you will just be a stalling action. I hope you know what you are doing and how many people you are jeopardizing. If you do, then I wish you best of luck and hope you return as soon as possible. Goodbye."
Harry was shocked at the abrupt dismissal but took his emancipation letter and quickly left. He didn't want her to change her mind or try to stop him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As Harry exited the Gargoyle, he found Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna waiting for him. They looked at him and waited. Harry sighed and held up the letter. He started "We are leaving now. We have to stop at Gringotts and then from there we will find somewhere to train. This letter gives me access to the entire Potter estate, as Ron believes there are several properties tied up in that estate. Hopefully he is right."
The group nodded and they followed Harry away from the gargoyle and toward the Entrance Hall. The group exited the castle amid points and whispers from the Great Hall.
When the five reached the front gate, the group quietly looked back. They all knew that they were leaving behind friends, family, and their childhood, or what was left. They just hoped that they could salvage what was left to them when they returned. That is if they returned in good enough shape, mentally and physically, to return to society.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The five entered the Three Broomsticks, waving to Madam Rosmerta and stepping over to the fireplace. They flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and from there entered Diagon Alley. They quickly proceeded towards Gringotts and stopped at the bottom of the steps.
Harry said, "Okay, Hermione and I are going to be seeing the goblins inside. Ron, head to the Quidditch store and get four Firebolts. Neville, head to Ollivanders. Tell him we want five of the Black Ops Specials. He will understand. Luna, hit up the apocathery for anything we could need. Also get two new owls, black preferably. Charge everything to my name."
The three nodded and quickly dispersed to their tasks. Harry and Hermione entered Gringotts and immediately Griphook appeared and guided them to a private room.
As the door closed, Griphook took the letter from Harry and read it quickly. After finishing he handed the letter back and said "Very well Mr. Potter. You estate is now yours. Now there are also three other estates to which you have ties. The Black estate, the Evans estate, and the Gryffindor Estate. Do you also wish to claim these estates?"
Harry was shocked at this and nodded yes. Griphook took out a silver bowl and a dagger. He took Harry's hand and placed it over the bowl. Then he pricked Harry's finger, which drew a sharp breath from Hermione, and allowed the blood to drip into the bowl. He looked closely at the colour it changed to and said, "Very well. You know have access to these estates and are the head of the Black Family, the Evans Family, the Potter Family, and the Gryffindor Family. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Harry asked, "What properties do I own Griphook? Also if I am on, say an extended vacation, what can I do for money?"
Griphook replied, " For money, we can issue you Muggle credit cards, a magic pouch that refills itself, or allow someone to send you money from your vault. Whichever option you wish we shall arrange for you. Now about properties, you own several hundred. Of those most are rented buildings and only about twenty-five are anywhere you would want to stay. There are five houses in America, twelve in Britain, five elsewhere on the European continent, one in China, one in Japan, and one in Canada, not counting Hogwarts. Which as the heir of Gryffindor you now own, well since you are the only heir of the four at this time."
Harry's mouth had fallen wide open at this and Hermione questioned, "What houses are suitable for five people to live in and train for an extended amount of time Griphook? We will not be returning for awhile. Also please arrange for weapons specialist and magic trainers to meet us at the location we choose, only the best and very secretly Griphook. We want no one to know where we go or what we are doing. I will pay any fee you require for this."
Griphook conferred to a list on the table and replied, "There are three properties in America that would do nicely. One is a mansion in Las Vegas, the other a quite large house in New Orleans, and the third is a ranch in Texas. All are very large, private, and spacious enough for five people to easily live together."
Hermione reached over and closed Harry's mouth while asking Griphook to provide them with the information on all three and anything else about those properties, keys, alarm codes, etc. Griphook handed her a leather folder and a ring of keys. He then asked, "What do you wish to do for money?"
Harry thought about it and replied, "Could I have five credit cards, issued to Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and myself? Also a large supply of cash in case of emergencies."
Griphook wrote down the request and replied, "That is quite satisfactory Mr. Potter. Now for a couple of other issues that need to be dealt with. As you are the Head of House for several families, several funds and property vaults are now at your disposal. The trust funds shall be added to your main vault and become accessible immediately. The property vaults I think shall be more to your interest. They contain weapons and several hundred ancient texts, all on combating the Dark arts. One vault also houses the remaining possessions of your parents."
Hermione's interest was piqued about the ancient text and weapons, but Harry was interested to hear there were things of his parents remaining. He immediately asked, "Griphook could you take me to that vault? I want to see those things before we depart. Also have the weapons and books shrunk down to a manageable size for out travel?"
Griphook wrote several orders and they disappeared with a poof. He then gestured for them to follow him to the elevator. The descended with a stomach dropping fall to the lowest level of Gringotts and to Harry's vaults. Griphook unlocked one and allowed them to enter. Inside were three trunks with the labels: Lily's things, James's things, and Miscellaneous. Harry strode to his parents trunk and flung them open.
In Lily's trunk was several pictures and two pendants. James's housed a blank piece of parchment, several books, and a wand. Harry pocketed the wand, parchment, and pendants. He then closed those trunks and checked for anything interesting in the third trunk. He sorted through it quickly found nothing and closed it. Hermione stood by the vault door letting him sort through the remaining lifeline he had to his parents. As they were exiting, Hermione touched his arm and asked, "Are you okay Harry? With everything that has been going on?"
Harry turned toward her and smiled. He squeezed her hand and said simply, "I am doing what must be done. I have no reason to remember the past now, only to rectify the future."
Hermione was satisfied by his answer but still held his hand as they ascended back up the elevator.
They exited the elevator and were handed a small backpack by a young goblin. Harry checked the pockets, pulled several cards from one and handed one to Hermione. She slipped it into her pocket and the waved bye to Griphook, leaving Gringotts.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As they exited Gringotts, Harry and Hermione were still holding each other's hand and neither wanted to let go. Everything was happening so fast that neither was sure what they were feeling. Harry had found a new emotion lately around Hermione, and wasn't sure exactly what it was. Hermione knew what it was, but was too afraid to admit it to herself.
They walked towards the Quidditch shop where they saw Neville, Ron, and Luna conferring with each other. As they joined them, the conversation ended and they all showed that their purchases had been successful. Harry nodded said, "Okay, we are going to America. There are three properties there that we can use and train in. No one knows that we have access to them so they will not try to find us there. The goblins will not give away that we visited them today and no one will have the authority to look at my accounts. We shall try to take an airplane as soon as we can, as taking a port key for that far would be uncomfortable. I am offering you one last chance now to step back out of this and stay here. No one should go through what we are about to do."
No one stepped away and Harry smiled at the loyalty of his friends, hoping it wouldn't cause their death. He then handed them each their credit cards and Ron took the backpack from him. As their pact was confirmed, the five friends departed Diagon Alley; unbeknownst to them it would be their final time to see it.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As the group exited their final plane flight in Las Vegas, Hermione went to the car rental desk and rented a car and driver. Ron, meanwhile, was trying to figure out how to get a soda out of the drink machine. Everyone else started cracking up when he tried talking to it. Harry finally stopped him when he was about to blow it up.
By then the car had arrived and the group departed for the house. They drove for about twenty minutes and pulled into a large mansion set up on a cliff side. The driver pulled into the drive and let them off on the steps. He deposited their luggage by the steps and drove off.
The group walked up the steps and cautiously entered the front door .Inside they found a huge ten bedroom mansion that had every luxury they could think off. Harry immediately started levitating things they wouldn't need into one room. After finishing that lengthy task, he sat down on the couch in the main room.
As everyone else sat down, Harry sighed and said, "Okay guys, we need to start training immediately. The first thing we need to become proficient at is martial arts and Muggle weapons. Voldemort used vampires last war and they aren't affected by magic. We need to be prepared to fight them and any other threats that we don't know about. Griphook has arranged for our first trainer to be here early tomorrow morning."
Hermione meanwhile was reading the information on the house that Griphook had given them. As Harry had been talking, Hermione had come across an interesting tidbit in the file. She stood up and walked over to the large glass window overlooking the cliff side. She waved her wand over the main glass panel and a door way opened into a hall.
Harry and the others quickly jumped up and moved to the doorway. Neville pulled his wand out and cast Lumos. Everyone followed suit and proceeded into the hallway slowly waving their wands around to check for anything threatening.
Hermione was moving along the wall and found a switch. She tapped it and the lights came on in the room. Everyone blinked and Ron started to see first. They found themselves in a large room, easily the size of the Quidditch pitch as Hogwarts. Lining the walls of the room were Muggle weapons and dummies. Harry walked over to the weapons rack and picked up a sword .hefting it in his hand. Meanwhile, Hermione moved to the gun rack and lifted off a P90, expertly sliding in a clip and racking back the slide. She aimed it at the nearest dummy and fired three burst into it. Ron ducked down, looking at Hermione in shock. Neville, Harry, and Luna were just as dumbfounded.
Hermione just laughed and shrugged, "My uncle is Special Forces. He taught me to fire guns when I spent the summer with family in France after fourth year.."
Everyone just laughed and they left the room. Ron asked, "Hermione got any more surprises for us? Is my bed going to port key me to Portugal or something?"
Hermione checked the folder again and didn't see anything. Hermione replied, "Let's see Ron. The fridge is a portkey to Hogwarts, the toilet takes you to Durmstrang, and the garden is actually a breeding ground for Devil's Snare."
Ron almost fainted where he was standing, but caught the joke as everyone else burst out laughing. Harry laughed so hard he fell to the floor. Ron proceeded to flick everyone off and walk up the stairs to his room. Everyone else composed themselves and quickly followed suit. Five minutes later, everyone was comatose in their own beds.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Harry was the first awake in the morning and decided to make breakfast for everyone. He found that since he wasn't at the Dursley's and had to cook, he quite enjoyed it. Luna entered the kitchen about twenty minutes later and took a seat across the island from where Harry was cooking.
Harry finished and set a plate in front of Luna, who still just sat there. When Harry sat down across the island from her, she asked, "Harry, are you sure you want to do this? This training may lead us too deep into the dark arts. I will follow you, as will the others, on whatever you decide. I'm just afraid that this will destroy our humanity."
Harry sat there for a minute before replying, "I'm afraid this might destroy my humanity too, but I know it has to be done. Having you four here with me will be the only thing that does keep me human. If I did this by myself, at the end I would be worse than Voldemort. Everyone deserves love and that's what the having us together will allow each other. I hope that we can all just know that what we are doing is for the best."
Luna nodded thoughtfully and hugged Harry. She said, "That is what I wanted to hear Harry. I know you will never be able to become the next Voldemort."
As Luna finished, everyone else entered and sat down to breakfast. Hermione looked quizzically and Harry and Luna, but sat there and ate her breakfast quietly. Ron, as usual, wolfed down as much as he could. Neville just sat there and picked at his food. As Harry was starting to do the dishes, the doorbell clanged and Hermione went to answer it. She came back with a man, who looked in his late twenties. He looked them over quickly, and introduced himself as Jack O'Neill.
He then said, "Well, Griphook contacted me yesterday and said you needed a trainer in martial arts. I graduated from the Salem Institute of Witchcraft in New Orleans. I've worked with Albus Dumbledore a couple times. He actually was actually going to have me come train you this year, but as he has passed on… this will have to do. Now shall we get started?"
Harry replied, "Sure, follow me. We have a room that is perfect to train in."
Jack followed them out and into the training room. He looked over everything in the room carefully, and nodded in approval over the weapons and supplies they had. He tossed each a practice sword and said, "Okay, now we are going to see if you have any skills. All of you attack me."
Harry twisted the sword between his hands, just following his instincts. Hermione also held back as Ron, Neville, and Luna rushed into attack him.
Jack dodged Ron's slice, tapping his sword out of his hand and hitting him with the flat edge of his sword. Neville tried to knock the sword out of Jack's hand as he went to hit Ron, but Jack kicked the sword out of Neville's hand and used wand less magic to pin Neville to the wall. Luna grabbed Neville's sword as it flew by and swung both down at Jack as he blocked the downswing and then took Neville's sword back from her. Luna was surprised at this; Jack took the small opportunity to disarm her and pin her next to Neville.
He then faced Harry and Hermione, waiting for their attack. Harry moved to one side as Hermione moved to the other. They both moved to attack Jack at once and Jack Apparated away. They ended up attacking each other, with Harry getting the worst. He got smacked in the head with the practice sword while Hermione only got hit in the leg by Harry's sword, making her fall to the ground.
Jack laughed from one of the corners and summoned all the swords to him. Everyone stood up and Jack said, "Now do you see why you need training? I just disarmed five of the best wizards in their year. I will be training you to fight as well as I do. Now each of you grab a sword and we will get started.
Hey guys, my new beta found a few more mistakes with my writing, so thanks to Heather. I also changed a small thing about Hermione, after Heather didn't agree with my choice. Also the next chapter should be up by June 28, 2007. I went on vacation and didn't get to update before I left sorry guys.
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