Albus Dumbledore was flabbergasted by what he had just experienced.
Sirius Orion Black had destroyed months, no ... YEARS, of his time by the instructions of his will. As he had waited for Harry to come out of Gringott's, he had seen the Weasley family sans the twins. He approached them and asked for a report of what had occurred.
Sirius Black, after assigning a different magical guardian, had also announced that he had cancelled all Marriage Contracts for his now-legal son, Harry James Potter-Black. This was entirely unacceptable. It seriously endangered the plans that he had made and the rewards that he had laid out for this faithful followers.
In addition, according the Arthur, no Marriage Contract would be accepted without a full scan to ensure there was no outside influence. Afterward, the Malfoys had come out of the bank, sneered in a superior manner toward him and then left. Severus soon followed.
From his report, there were additional conditions built in to the remaining clauses of the Will. He had been forced to give Oath to prevent disclosure. He could not find out what the conditions were if no one was allowed to say.
In addition, there was the mater of whatever Sirius Black had passed on to all and sundry regarding Albus's own actions. Some things could not be ALLOWED.
He would have to ensure he apprehended the boy and obliviated him before more of his grand plans were lost.
He had detailed Alastor, Severus, and Minerva -- who had followed shortly on the heels of Severus -- to catch the boy and, barring that, to follow discretely where he was transported to by his shudder new magical guardian. He had to attempt to quash the reports that had been delivered. He would be very busy tonight with memory charms.
At the Burrow, the scene was one of utter chaos.
The Weasleys were arguing amongst each other as to who to blame and what to do. Percy had been called in after Bill and Charlie had left. The oldest two boys were not trusted to go along with the plan.
Bill worked for Gringott's and they had regular checks as to charms and potions, and Charlie was too far out of the picture regularly to be able to maintain the influence necessary.
Ginny wanted to know what could be done to ensure control of Harry Potter. She would NOT marry some poor wizard and live her life poor.
Ron had claimed the mudblood bitch a long time ago within the family. She would be used to advance his own position in society with her brains. At least Sirius had trusted her no more than he trusted the Weasleys. From what they had seen, besides the books she hadn't received any more than Ron or Ginny had. The loyalty potions should ensure she followed the lead of the Weasleys to not take any oath.
All knew how much Harry depended on Hermione. Where Hermione went, Harry was sure to follow.
The family would have to trust in Albus and the potions that had already been delivered. Molly made plans to make a fresh batch.
Bill and Charlie apparated in to the back room at their brothers' shop. Something was not right with the family.
The two knew of no reason why the other members of the family would not swear to the oath that Sirius had requested. Harry Potter was the wizarding world's best hope to defeat Voldemort and the other members of the family were all but avoiding committing to him.
They would learn the truth. They had been raised on Gryffindor values and they would follow them.
Andromeda was being held by her lovely husband of 23 years. Her loveable Gryffindor cousin had died, but had taken the steps needed to give her back her name.
No matter how much she told herself she didn't care, the loss of her birth name had always hurt. She didn't care for the money of or the pureblood ideology, but a name gave you a sense of belonging.
She, only now, could appreciate the full pain of what it meant the be an orphan. It wasn't the same thing, but recovering her family had highlighted the pain she had endured without one. She had been so used to it, she hadn't even noticed.
She would do anything to protect her family now.
The goblins stood back and watched the tableau of what was happening in wake of the Last Will of Sirius Black. This was not something they were unfamiliar with as all old Family Wills were probated through Gringott's.
They did not find it a sign of weakness when an attendee succumbed to grief in the end. It was a human thing, and in this one thing they did not begrudge wizards and witches this thoroughly human response.
Goblins felt grief of course. But goblins turned their grief into a weapon to be used in furtherance of conflict and the pursuit of profit. Humans were such strange creatures.
Amelia Bones looked on as Harry Potter -- no, Harry Potter-BLACK -- recovered from the emotional turmoil that was the result of the Last Will of Sirius Black.
Harry was being held by, what she understood from her niece, the girl that he depended on. Her Auror was also looking on, sitting with Remus Lupin, talking quietly. Those two made an odd pair, if only because the man was a werewolf.
The laws in place severely restricted werewolves and if Tonks became involved, her career advancement would be halted. Then again, with what had happened tonight, she really didn't need to advance in pay grade, did she?
The Weasley twins looked on, wondering what was wrong with their family. The whole responses didn't make any sense. They would have to think about it.
Amelia was anxious to talk to the young man about the letter she had received two days before. It had given her some bit of security knowing that her Susan would be taken to safety in the event of a catastrophe. Her own shadow she had agreed to, although she found it quite a radical idea having an elf as a bodyguard.
She had talked over things with her own house elf and had learned some things that she had never known. Growing up in the wizarding world, some things were not inspected closely and one of those things was house elves.
How Harry Potter had learned of the abilities and limitations of elves and put them to an intelligent use as a muggle-raised wizard was frankly astounding. She knew that no death eater would even consider them a factor as she herself had never considered them a factor, and she was NOT a blood purist.
She would bide her time and wait to learn what she needed to know.
Harry finally calmed down after several minutes of letting his grief be felt. He found himself with his head against the chest of his best friend and he finally sat up. He quietly said his thanks to her. She replied, just as quietly, "Anytime, love."
He cleared his throat and said to Sharpclaw, "I apologize for my emotional outburst. This was the first moment that I have been able to confront this fully. I will not take up your time again as regards this."
Sharpclaw moved back toward the table from his conversation with the guards. "In this instance, no apology is necessary. Now, we have a few further items to discuss. Do you wish for those in the room to remain in attendance?"
"Yes. I trust all of them with my life, and they need to know what I know."
"Very well. In the personal Vault of Mr. Black, it was found that there was a certified copy of the Last Wills of your direct ancestors James Potter and Lilly Potter. These were turned over to my department and it was noted that these were not followed. The person guilty of this is one Albus Dumbledore. He was a witness for the Wills and as such he has not excuse for his actions. Would you like the Wills to be read or would you like copies sent to interested parties?"
"Can I look at them please?"
Sharpclaw handed two parchments to Harry and he began to look them over. As he read, he became more and more angry. His magic began to pulse out from him and the there was a cold wind apparent in the room. Those watching became nervous at the display. Hermione finally ran around and threw herself at Harry. "Harry! Calm down!"
The display of accidental magic suddenly stopped as his concentration on the Wills was broken. "Eh, sorry. I was getting a little carried away."
Amelia interrupted, "Well, Mr. Potter-Black, obviously there are things contained in their Wills that were upsetting. Can I review them to investigate any illegal actions?"
Harry slowly smiled. "That would be an excellent idea." He turned to Sharpclaw. "Can you make several copies of these and certify the copies? I would like a copy, I would like a copy to be placed in Hermione's vault with her permission, Remus needs a copy, a copy needs to be sent to Minerva McGonagall as well as Neville Longbottom, one for Madam Bones personally and one for the DMLE, one for Andromeda Tonks, which can be delivered by her daughter." He thought a moment. "I would also request, although he is not named in the Wills, that in two days time a copy be sent to Rubeus Hagrid. Also, in two days time, I would like copies sent to Rita Skeeter at the Daily Prophet with my compliments, as well as Luna Lovegood for the Quibbler. I will pay any fee necessary for the several additional copies."
"The fee will be 1 galleon per copy and 1 galleon for delivery for those not named in the Wills except for the copies for the Ministry. Would you like the fee taken from your Potter vaults or your Black vault?"
"I would ask that you take it from the Potter trust vault. I would also ask that you then remove all gold from the Potter Trust Vault and place it in the Potter Family Vault." Hermione looked at Harry with confusion. She had never heard that Harry had more than one vault. Little did she know, neither had he. "I would like to report that someone other than myself has apparent access to my Trust Vault. Molly Weasley used my vault to buy my school supplies in the last two years and I never actually gave her my key. I do not feel confident having anyone other than myself, and Hermione Granger, having access to that vault. Instead of removing the gold, can it be re-keyed for a fee?"
Sharpclaw replied, "It can be done. An investigation of how the woman obtained a key shall be done and the cost for the service will be deducted from the guilty party's assets. In addition, penalties will be assessed for irregularities with the handling of the Last Wills of James and Lily Potter. Would you like us to proceed?"
"I would. And I ask that all information be forwarded to Amelia Bones at the DMLE. Once again, any fees required can be deducted from my family vault."
"Mr. Potter, I understand that you are willing to pay any reasonable fees for the services that we perform. We will assume in the future that this is the case and we will forward records of fees taken up to G40, allowing you to contest any fee you disagree with. Any individual fees larger than that and any daily cumulative larger than G200 we will receive prior permission before taking. Is this acceptable?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Copies will be available shortly. Wait here." Sharpclaw moved off toward his office to make the copies ready. He appreciated the obvious respect that the wizard had shown to Gringott's and his willingness to pay reasonable fees, but the extra time taken by the constant offers began to grate on his nerves. Goblins preferred efficiency.
"Mr. Potter"
"Please, call me Harry."
"Please, in informal settings call me Amelia. Now, Harry, I would like to discuss the letter that I received from you the day before yesterday."
Harry smiled sheepishly as the others in the room looked interested. "Umm, about that ... I can't really say where I got the information."
Hermione asked, "What is this about?"
Harry looked to her and explained to the group as a whole. "A source close to one of my enemies has decided to aid me in passing along information that I will need to be aware of to keep myself and others safe. I cannot divulge the source as it would compromise his position, but I can offer Magical Oath as the the accuracy of the information. The source, by the nature of magic, cannot lie to me. He offered himself to my service and as a result, I can trust the information."
Hermione looked at Harry with a suspicious look. "Is this a house elf?"
Harry laughed at her. "No, actually. It is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, a house elf. I won't say more at this moment, but I promise full disclosure when it is safe. I DID hire Dobby as you know, and I hired Winky as well. Yes, Hermione love, I am paying them both, although Winky refused more than a galleon a month. I will have to work on that. Dobby accepted a galleon a week." He thought a moment before getting back on point. "Anyway, this source informed me that Voldemort was being guided to attack Amelia. I have placed Winky in position to take her to safety if Voldemort attacks. What most people don't know is that standard anti-apparition and anti-portkey charms don't work on house elves. As a result, Amelia is much safer than she would be otherwise. Her niece is also protected as Dobby has instructions to drop anything he's doing to take her to safety if he is called."
Harry turned to Amelia. "Amelia, do you have a house elf?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Can you instruct your house elf to take Dobby's place if called? It's not that I don't want Dobby to help if needed, but I would like to make his top priority Hermione, and then her parents, and then Susan. I figure I can take care of myself if needed. If those are safe, Dobby can take me to safety as well afterward. I'm a bit nervous about it as I will be staying with her for the rest of the summer and I do not wish to place her family in any more danger than they are in right now."
Amelia thought about it. "I can agree to that. The offer of the services of the elf were beyond what is needed anyway. Perhaps Winky can be reassigned to Susan and I can call if an elf is needed."
Harry shook his head violently. "No! YOU are the primary target. In any fight, you will be attacked first. The shock of your disappearing will give Susan time to call for rescue if needed, and if it's at your home, your elf will probably anticipate the necessity first. If Voldemort is to be defeated, the Ministry MUST have a sane and rational Head of the DMLE."
All around the room, the audience took note of Harry's passion about this subject. Tonks turned toward her boss. "Amelia, I have to agree with him. It's good, sound tactical thinking. It uses the resources available the most efficiently with the least likelihood of loss of life. I'd just agree now if I were you."
She sighed. "I will agree, Harry, if you agree to have a longer meeting at some point so that I can discuss a number of subjects that I am curious about."
"That's fine with me."
At that moment, Sharpclaw returned with the extra copies. He passed them around as requested. "When would you like to discuss the Wills, Mr. Potter?"
"Can I contact you in a few days time to arrange for it? It's been a long day and I'm getting knackered. I still have to settle in at Ms. Granger's house."
"That will be acceptable. I anticipate your message."
"Thank you, Sharpclaw. You have been a great aid to me and mine today. Can I ask my friend Dobby to take me from Gringott's directly or do I need to leave the bank first?"
"Wizard apparition does not work within the Gringott's wards."
"Dobby isn't exactly a wizard. He is a house elf in my employ."
Sharpclaw looked at him for a moment; the word "friend" had thrown him. "Very well, I will show you to the apparition point."
"Great! Thank you! Please let me make last arrangements here and I will follow you." He turned toward Amelia. "Madam Bones. I would like to make formal request that you escort Ms. Granger home in full view of any witnesses in front of Gringott's. I do not want it known outside of those here and a couple of others where I am staying this summer, and so do not want to be seen leaving with her. I also ask that you discretely inform Madam Hopkirk that an adult wizard will be at Ms. Granger's house. I know that she tends to send warnings first without investigating. Would that be a problem?"
"No. I can do that. When would you like to have our discussion?"
"Can I invite you to dinner sometime later this week?"
"That would be fine. I look forward to it."
"Okay. Remus, Tonks, it was good to see you. You too, diabolical duo. I will be in touch. Please do what you can do deflect attention from Hermione's place as much as possible, should it come up. Fred, George, please message me if there is anything I need to know from your family. I do NOT want anyone other than yourselves and possibly Bill and Charlie -- and only in an emergency -- to know where I can be located. I will also message you later this week as to when I can explain everything"
The others nodded. After polite farewells, all of the people in the office moved off toward their own path to their destinations.