Chapter 3: The Answers We Need…
Harry yawned as he made his way down the stairs the next morning. He rubbed a sleepy eye, making his way into the kitchen and saw Rina was already washed, dressed and cooking. Frowning, he looked at his watch and saw it was only eight.
Rina turned around when she heard someone come into the kitchen and smiled.
"Morning Harry," she greeted brightly. Harry groaned as he sat down at the counter.
"You are way too cheerful for a girl who is up at eight, already washed and dressed," he muttered. Rina laughed as she turned away from the cooker. She was wearing the outfit he first seen her in. Red leather jacket, made out of dragon hide, and red trousers. She was wearing her boots and her long black hair was tied up in a knot at the back of her head.
"Even dragons get fed," she reminded him, placing the empty plates on the place mats. "I get up with the Dragons so I can feed them, check over their wounds if they have any and check over the eggs to make sure they are in one piece or if any of them have hatched."
"Do you all work in shifts?" Harry asked as he picked up a jug of pumpkin juice and poured some into his glass. Rina nodded as she turned back to the cooker to make sure the food weren't burning.
"I have the daybreak and afternoon shifts this week with a few other people. Charlie has the morning and night shifts this week." She turned the French-toasts over.
"Do you swap over weeks and shifts?"
"Yeah, once a week each month, I get the week off and Charlie will have another week off. It just depends on how many dragons there are and the mating seasons. We tend to be away for the mating seasons and come back once the dragons start laying eggs and help them look after them."
"What about the dorm?" Harry asked. Rina chuckled as she looked over her shoulder at him.
"Are you interested in becoming a dragon tamer?" she asked and Harry shrugged.
"I used to want to be an Auror but after finding out about me and Voldemort…I'm not sure I'd want to continue hunting down bad guys," Harry admitted and she sighed sadly as she opened the oven door and slid the frying pans into it. She turned around and took a seat from Harry.
"I understand," she told him. "You have an idea of what you would like to do because it seems like they are going a good job only to find it can be easily corrupted or prevented by something else. After five years at Hogwarts, you start to realise that things just might not be as glamorous as you thought it would be." Harry nodded.
"When Hagrid came to get me and take me to Hogwarts, I was excited because I thought I would finally find a place I would fit in only to discover that everyone already knows about me because I'm famous. I arrive at Hogwarts and find that there are rivalries there and each year, I find myself in danger without realising it." He sighed. "Did Charlie tell you I'm a Parselmouth?" Rina nodded.
"Yes, he told me after his parents contacted him about Ginny going missing. I was impressed because I never knew of a Parselmouth before." Harry snorted.
"You are one of the minorities. Nearly everyone turned their backs on me apart from Hermione, even Ron thought I was the one who was hurting muggleborns. It wasn't until Hermione straightened him out that he stayed on my side. Apparently being able to talk to snakes is a dark art."
Rina snorted, startling Harry as he looked up at from where he his gaze had fallen to his hands.
"Harry, talking to snakes is not a dark art, it's a lost art," she corrected. Harry frowned. "Talking to snakes is part of a dragon lineage as they are more lizards like and responds in growls and hiss. Salazar Slytherin was famous for being able to talk and passed it down through his family. He had wanted to pass it along but as you know history, the Slytherin family inbred rather than branching out." Harry made a face before he chuckled.
"It's actually quite ironic when you think about it. Purebloods are so frantic about keeping their lines pure that they don't realise is in order for them to stay pure, they will have to marry into the family from now on," Harry told her and Rina giggled in agreement. "Of course there was my fourth year when everyone, but Hermione, turned their back on me because they believed that I put my name in the goblet of fire. It was only after the first task they all claimed me as a hero once more."
"Then fifth year came and no one believed you about Voldemort and now Voldemort has shown himself, you're now the hero?" Rina finished and Harry nodded before frowning.
"They believe me about Voldemort?" he asked and Rina nodded as she picked up the folded papers, unfolded it and showed the front page to Harry.
'HARRY POTTER TOLD TRUTH!' screamed the headline. 'In a shock announcement, it is revealed that Harry Potter had told the truth of Voldemort coming back at the end of his fourth year. The ministry had tried to keep it under-wraps because they didn't want to believe that one of the most feared wizards wasn't as dead as we all thought. But what we must ask is how long are the ministry prepared to lie to us concerning Harry Potter…' Harry folded the papers back up, refusing to read it.
"I don't care about the Ministry anymore. They sent Dementors after me, twice. They refused to believe me when I told the truth about Sirius, about Voldemort. I'm the one who got the flack for being dubbed as a 'liar' and now; I'm a frigging hero just because they are scared that I won't come back and save them."
"Question is; should you?" murmured Rina. Harry looked at her, stunned and Rina sighed. "In your first year, you were in danger because Voldemort possessed a teacher. Second year, you were in danger because you had a teacher who couldn't teach and Voldemort somehow come back in spirit form. In third year, lies were all over the place and the real person who sold your parents out was under your nose the entire time without anyone realising it. Fourth year, you were entered into a tournament illegally. They could have declared it null and void but decided to go ahead with you as bait. It was obvious that they were trying to figure out who was trying to put you in danger and in the process, you were the catalyst needed to bring Voldemort back. In your fifth year, you had someone from the ministry as a teacher who, as I was told, bullied you and you were slagged off by your own school because you 'dared' to tell the truth."
"You don't like the wizarding community much, do you?" Harry asked and Rina sighed.
"There are some pro but a lot of cons. I was bullied at my school because I was a muggleborn rather than being a pureblood or a veela like most of the girls. I've met Umbridge and what wouldn't I do to smash that toad like face of hers in. She treated me like dirt just because I was a muggleborn and refused to bow down to Fudge, the sleazebag." Harry whistled in amazement.
"How did you meet them?" Harry asked and Rina sighed.
"I worked at the Ministry for a short time before I came here. I was sucked in by the glamour only for Umbridge to boss me about and Fudge to call me into his office to give me a promotion, if I slept with him," Harry's jaw dropped at that. "Of course I gave him my knee, quit on the spot right there and ran here and fell in love with the dragons. They do not ask you for sexual favours. They don't bully you. They don't stab you in the back and they most certainly don't turn tail and run when the going gets rough."
"Just when I thought I couldn't hate Fudge any more…" Harry shook his head before grimacing. "I'm so gonna have to tell Hermione about that though." Rina tilted her head, curious. "She wants to work for the Ministry but if Fudge gets removed, who to say that the next person won't just take what they want?" Rina shuddered at the thought. She was about to say something when there was a noise and they turned to see Charlie dressed in a pair of boxers stumble into the kitchen, yawning, rubbing a sleepy eye and hair all mussed up.
"Morning," he yawned out, taking a seat at the counter as Rina got off her seat, opened the ovens and pulled out the pans to place them back on the cooker. With her knee, she closed the oven door. She switched on the cooker and reheated the food.
"So, we're heading to Gringotts?" Harry asked and Charlie nodded.
"You need to find out the truth about your parents, their will and the Dragon Lineage you may have. The goblins have always been trusted with secrets," Charlie told him.
"Do you really think I might have dragon blood through me?" Harry asked and Charlie shrugged.
"If what Rina's grandmother says is true, you will need to find out before you lose control over it," Charlie warned and Harry nodded.
"At least there wasn't a prophecy," Harry muttered.
"Actually there was," Rina spoke up as she looked over her shoulder at Harry. "I only know the gist. What it was 'in a time where a great evil rises for the second time, a young boy will be the one to unite the worlds against him'," she shrugged, "I found it in some old diaries that my great-grandmother had left me in her will."
"This is just un-bloody-believable," Harry growled, dropping his head onto his folded arms. Rina just clucked her tongue in sympathy, turning back to the cooker.
"Worlds?" asked Charlie, confused. "Do you mean like aliens?" Rina frowned and shook her head.
"No, there are many different meanings for worlds. It could mean the wizarding and muggle community but as Harry has dragon lineage inside of him, I'm assuming it has something to do with the creatures. Each one could be considered a world of itself," Rina explained before she looked at Charlie. "You have to remember that when a seer tells of prophecy, it could mean anything as nothing should be taken as literal." Harry frowned as he lifted his head.
"Mine is," Harry pointed out and Rina nodded.
"Yes, but it never said when it should be been taken in action. Voldemort could have waited for years before deciding which one made the greatest threat to him," Rina pointed out. "Because he took it literally, he assumed that you would grow into the power, what he didn't realise was that you had been born with the power."
"So…this is all Voldemort's fault?" Harry asked and Rina frowned before shaking her head, turning around holding the plates and placed them in front of the boys.
"No, there were many actions that caused Voldemort to kill your parents and try and kill you. People pushed him in that direction by Dumbledore having the Seer give the Prophecy in the middle of a bar then having Peter overhear it and take the information, no matter how small, to Voldemort before giving Voldemort the information of where your parents had hidden. If Voldemort had been given the whole prophecy, he probably would have sat back and waited to see which one represented the greatest threat after all, Neville is a pureblood yet you're a half blood, albeit a different half-blood but he never knew that."
"You should totally become my history teacher," Harry told her after finishing his bite. "I'd probably listen rather than going to sleep like Professor Binns makes us." He frowned. "I'm beginning to be convinced that he is haunting my homework." Charlie choked on his food as he laughed, coughing as he tried to dislodge the food. Rina frowned in confusion toward Harry as she reached over and patted Charlie on the back to help him.
"Who is Professor Binns?" she asked, hitting Charlie hard enough to dislodge the food.
"Thanks," Charlie said, coughing. "Professor Binns is the History of Magic teacher at Hogwarts and he is a ghost. There's a rumour that he died in his sleep one night but still kept coming to class unaware that he is a ghost." Harry chuckled.
"That's still the rumour at Hogwarts," Harry told him.
"Why doesn't Dumbledore just remove him from his position?" Rina asked.
"Dumbledore has soft spots for his teachers which are why he finds it harder to replace them but it would be a good idea to replace them because a lot of people failed History due to being bored," Charlie said.
"Students I don't like, Dragons I love," Rina held her hands up. "I had a hell of a time when I was at school and I have no desire to return."
"Where did you go?" Harry asked.
"Beauxbatons," Harry frowned.
"You don't have a French accent," Harry pointed out and Rina nodded.
"My parents moved to France when I was ten and I was accepted at Beauxbatons then. I lived in London before I moved to France so I still retained my London accent rather than French."
"Do you know Fleur?" Harry asked and Rina shook her head.
"Only a little, we didn't hang around at school," she explained before noticing that Harry was finished his breakfast and had a look at her watch. "You should get upstairs and dressed," Rina told Harry, who nodded, getting up from his seat and into the hallway. He grinned when he heard Rina say the same thing to Charlie. He hurried up the stairs and over to the closet where he grabbed the towels and headed into the bathroom for a quick wash and shave.
After he was finished, he exited the bathroom and nodded to Charlie as Charlie made his way into the bathroom. Harry made his way into the bedroom only to stop when he saw new clothes sitting on the bed. A closer look showed it was a pair of black jeans, a white shirt and a black zip up hoodie. There was a note at the side of the clothes, lifting it up, Harry check and saw it was from Rina, telling him that she bought some clothes for him when she nipped down the street and hoped they fitted him. He shook his head as an amused smile crossed his face.
He untied the towel from his waist and threw it into the washing basket that Charlie conjured in everyone's room before pulling on a pair of boxer shorts then pulled on the clothes, marvelling at having clothes that actually fitted him. He pulled on his trainers and checked to make sure his wand was in his pocket for easy access before he made his way out of the room and down the stairs into the living room where Rina was sorting the magazines on the coffee table look. She looked up and smiled when she saw Harry.
"Hey, Charlie should be down any minute," she told him. Harry nodded as he moved over to the couch and sat down on it. She admired him for a moment. "I'm glad that the clothes fit."
"Yeah, thanks for getting them for me," Harry told her and Rina shook her head.
"I'm just curious to why your clothes you wear are baggy," Rina told him and Harry sighed.
"My aunt and uncle just gave me my cousin's second hand clothes. He is a bit… on the big side," he told her and Rina shook her head. She never could understand how people could neglect or abuse children. It was just beyond her imagination. They looked up when they heard footsteps on the stairs and Charlie made his way into the living room. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a red shirt. Rina straightened while Harry stood up and they headed out of the house toward the floo portal.
"Why don't you just use the fireplace?" Harry asked from where he was walking in the middle between them.
"Because it takes up too much magic to lock people out or to let them in," Charlie explained. "We tried it the first time but my mother kept coming through the fireplace without my permission and ended up seeing things she wasn't meant to see." Harry winced. "My boss got fed up with her ranting and raving that he cut off the fireplace for floo and they set up a portal where you have to call ahead in order to be put on the register form so you don't accidently fall back out of the floo trying to access the reserve."
"And it stops any anybody from trying to sneak on to the reserve in hope to use dragons, like death eaters," Harry, correctly, assumed. Charlie smirked.
"I guess Hermione has been rubbing off on you," he teased. Harry blushed, grateful that they had reached the portal. Rina reached over to the pad in front of the portal and pressed in a few buttons. A few moments later the portal filled up with a dark green bubble like liquid. Harry stared at it, curious and thought of how Hermione would be like considering the new invention.
"What do I do?" Harry asked.
"You just think of where you want to go and step through," Charlie explained. "We figured it would be safer this way so no-one can intercept you or hijack you." Harry nodded as he stepped forward, thought clearly of where he wanted to go before taking a deep breath and stepped through the liquid.
It was a strange sensation. It was like stepping into a pool of very cold water but made of jelly. His senses were numbed and he closed his eyes, the scenes whizzing past him made him feel dizzy and queasy. Suddenly, just as it started, he fell forward like someone had pressed a stop button without letting him know and he stumbled out of a fireplace. It took a few steps before Harry managed to gain his senses back and looked around to see that he was in the Tom's bar.
There was a whooshing sound behind him and he turned to see Charlie had stepped out of the fireplace with Rina following closely behind. They smiled when they saw Harry looked worse for the wear.
"It takes a while to get used to," Charlie told him with a shrug. "But it's a hell a lot better than Apparation." They both joined Harry where he was standing. Charlie gave Tom a wave. Tom waved back before returning to cleaning his glasses as the trio made their way over to the door when Rina turned to face Harry.
"It would be a good idea to put your hood up," Rina suggested. "Like you said, Dumbledore and the Order would be looking for you. Never mind Voldemort and his minions." Harry as he tugged his hood up; making sure it shadowed his face from everyone. They stepped out of the bar and into Diagon Alley. Harry found it amusing that people didn't even shoot them a second glance. As the Wizarding community hadn't seen Charlie in a while and didn't recognise Rina, they just assumed that they were a normal couple and left them alone. Even the Auror didn't recognise them. Harry was grateful for that as he knew that Dumbledore would be pulling out all the stops in order to get him back but Harry wanted to know the truth of what he really was and he wasn't going to let anyone get in the way.
Entering the large bank, the goblins barely spared the trio a glance. They continued walking until they reached the tallest desk. The goblin behind it peered over the edge and narrowed his eyes when he couldn't see the young man's face.
"How can I help you?" he asked.
"We wish to see the head of the Potter's vault," Charlie leaned forward, lowering his voice so it wouldn't attract the attention of the other witches and wizards. "Harry Potter is with us and needs to know the truth of his inheritance." The Goblin leaned forward once more. Harry tugged his hood back a little bit, just enough to reveal his scar. Harry had to give the goblin credit; he didn't indicate anything had changed.
"Fine, I will contact Rasphalt to let him know," the goblin told Charlie, writing something on a piece of parchment as he did. Once he was finished writing, it disappeared with a light blue flash and the doors next to the desks opened. "Please, enter." He gestured to the doors.
"Thank you," Harry bowed his head, lowering his hood back into place before following Charlie as he took the lead with Rina bringing the rear. They stepped through the doors and it closed behind them before another set of doors opened and there was an official goblin standing in front of them, obviously waiting for them.
"Ah, Mr. Potter," greeted the goblin, jovially. "Please, follow me." He led the way through a door. Harry took the time to look at his surrounding. The carpet was red and so were the walls with gold trimmings. There were different paintings of different goblins. Harry took a guess that those were the goblins that used to be head of the bank. They reached the end of the hallway and in front of them stood a large gold double door. The goblin knocked on it twice before there was a muffled 'enter' from inside.
Opening the doors, he stepped off to the side and gestured Harry and the adults to step in. Once they were in, he closed the doors behind him. Harry looked toward the desk and there was a large goblin sitting behind the desk. He looked up and peered through his glasses.
"Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, Miss Malloy. Please, sit," the goblin gestured to the seats in front of his desk. Harry sat in the middle one with Charlie taking the chair to his right and Rina taking the chair next to his left. "I am Rasphalt; I'm the head of the Potter's vault. What can I do for you?"
"What we are about to tell you must never leave this room," Charlie started. Rasphalt stared at him before he gave a short nod.
"I swear that nothing said in the room will leave here," Rasphalt swore and a bright light snapped in the room, signalling that the oath had been fulfilled.
"Harry has not been getting his mail from Gringott." Anger flashed in Rasphalt's eyes before he calmed himself.
"How do you mean?" Rasphalt asked.
"I never received a letter saying I am to attend to Sirius' reading. I never got a letter when I turned thirteen to tell me I have dragon blood," Harry informed him. "I do not know what else you guys have sent me." Rasphalt's hand was tightening around his quill. "Also, Mrs Weasley seems to have access to my vault despite the fact I only gave her my key once."
"You never asked for her to have access?" Rasphalt asked and Harry shook his head.
"I didn't even know I could ask for anyone to have access. I barely spent time in here because no one actually brought me here or explained anything to me."
"Okay. First thing first, we will check out your parents' will and go from there," Rasphalt wrote something on his pad of parchment and disappeared with a red flash before a thick folder appeared on his desk. He opened it. "The living will and testament of Lily Evans Potter and James Potter, the properties are to be split among Harry Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin."
"Properties?" asked Harry and Rasphalt shot him a startled glance.
"What have you been told of your parents?" Rasphalt asked. Harry seemed to stammer for a moment before he thought about it.
"My mother's sister is Petunia and she was one of the best students at school. She was very good in charms. My father was a chaser for Gryffindor quidditch, he was very good with transfiguration and liked to pull pranks with his best friends and sorta bully Snape," Harry listed. Rina and Charlie shot each other a shock look over Harry's head, stunned that no one had actually bothered to tell Harry's his family tree. Rasphalt seemed to growl under his breath for a moment before he took a calming breath.
"I will give you your family tree and their letters once we have finished here," Rasphalt told him and Harry nodded. He turned back to the will. "Harry Potter is either to be placed with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, or Tina Malloy."
"What?" Rina startled at her mother's name. Even Harry was frowning in confusion. Rasphalt stared at them before looking at the will once more.
"It is said here that Tina Malloy is Lily Evans Potter best friend, despite being a muggleborn. It turned out that Tina was the first person who Lily told she was magical and the two of them kept close contact." Rasphalt peered at Rina. "I am guessing that you and your parents never knew this?" Rina shook her head.
"No, mom never said that she was best friend with Lily or that she was meant to adopt Harry. I knew that she was upset about losing a friend when I was six years old. Nothing could cheer her up," Rina told them before shaking her head. "Never in my wildest life would I imagine that my family was connected to the Potters."
"It would explain how your grandmother knew of the Potter having dragon lineage," Charlie pointed out and Rina nodded as tears pricked her eyes before waving them off. "It's okay." She promised. Charlie just chuckled as he turned back to Rasphalt, who was looking amused. "You may continue." Rasphalt just chuckled as he turned back to the will before he frowned and look at Harry.
"If you don't mind me asking, who you were placed with?" he asked. Harry frowned.
"With the Dursleys, my mother's sister," Harry told him and Rasphalt paled. "Is there a problem?"
"The will indicates that you are, in no uncertain terms, you were ever to be placed with the Dursleys. The fact you have is a direct violation of your parents' will."
"I was told I was to live with the Dursleys because of the blood ward," Harry told him and Rasphalt narrowed his eyes at Harry.
"Am I correct that you did say, in the papers, that your blood was used in bringing Voldemort back to life?" he asked and Harry paled.
"The blood ward won't work?" Harry asked and Rasphalt nodded.
"Yes. Because it was your blood used to restore Voldemort back to his human state, the wards are no longer in effect as they will not be able to tell the difference between you and Voldemort," he explained. Charlie sat forward.
"Are you telling me that Voldemort could have walked in the Dursleys' residence straight after fourth year and killed Harry and there was nothing anyone could have done to stop it?!"
"Yes, that's what I am saying," Rasphalt told him. Harry found it refreshing that someone was actually giving him straight answers rather than fudging around.
"How could Dumbledore not know?" Rina demanded. "He was the one who kept sending Harry back there. So how could he have not known that by having Harry's blood inside of him would stop the blood ward from doing its job?"
"What does Professor Dumbledore have to do with this?" Rasphalt asked. Harry looked at him.
"Professor Dumbledore was the one who placed me with the Dursleys and continued to send me back there each summer," Harry explained. Rasphalt stood up, furious.
"He had no right to do that! He is not your magical guardian therefore he has no right over you!"
"Who was my magical guardian?" Harry asked, curious. Rasphalt snorted as he sat back down.
"Despite being incarcerated, Sirius Black was always you magical guardian unless you had been placed with Remus Lupin. Since he is dead now and, unfortunately due to the stupid law, Remus is unable to claim guardianship over you just because he is a werewolf," Rasphalt informed Harry with a disgusted tone before he brightened. "However, you are allowed to choose whoever you wish to be your guardian or we can emancipate you, allowing you to be considered as an adult."
"I thought you had to be sixteen before you could consider emancipation," Rina started and Rasphalt nodded.
"Yes, but Harry is a special circumstances. He had been placed with the Dursleys illegally."
"Can I think about it first?" Harry asked and Rasphalt nodded.
"Yes, it's entirely up to you. If you wish, you could meet with the Malloys and see what they are like for guardianship but if you feel like living by yourself, you are welcome to sign the forms. There is no time limit on it, Mr. Potter." Harry smiled gratefully.
"Thank you." Rasphalt shook his head as he turned back to the will.
"You parents have left you everything in their vaults with the distribution of money among the people who were considered for guardianship. Since Sirius Black has died, the money will be returned to you. You will find out more about that when you come for the reading of Sirius Black's will."
"Vaults? I have more than one vault?" Harry asked, incredulously and Rasphalt nodded.
"You must understand, Mr. Potter. The Potters are one of the wealthiest families around, despite the mixture of muggleborn and pureblood. Each family member was given their own vault and those were passed down to the family, which is you as you are the last living heir of the Potter line. Not to mention the Evans' line. Of course, Mrs. Dursley has own bank account with the money given to her. Mrs. Potter had gathered her savings, inheritance and things with emotional value and placed them into her vault."
"My mother had her own vault?" asked Harry, his voice choked up. Rasphalt gave him a sympathetic yet furious gaze.
"Yes. I truly find it astonishing that no one had ever bothered to tell you of your parents' vaults. Your mother had wanted you to know of her vault since you were five!"
"Sirius and I never spent a lot of time together. We were never given the chance. People were always putting us in separate rooms or he was hiding out. Remus and I never really got the chance either," Harry explained.
"No matter, it will be cleared up today," Rasphalt informed the three of them, watching as Rina reached out and intertwined her hand with Harry's giving him support. Harry looked at her, startled. He never had much human contact unless the Dursleys were trying to hurt him or Hermione trying to comfort him. Smiling sadly at Rina, he tightened his grip on her hand before turning back to face Rasphalt.
Charlie just smiled at the scene. That was one of the reasons why he liked Rina so much. She just gave everyone comfort and was there for them no matter what.
"Carry on," Rina told Rasphalt, who nodded.
"You have letters from your parents, which I shall give to you," Rasphalt levitated the two thick letters to Harry, who took them and placed them into his lap. "You may read them anytime you wish." He wrote something on his pad of parchment and it disappeared with a flash of red before a small wooden box appeared. Rasphalt moved it closer to the edge of the desk. "This contains all of your keys to your vaults. If you wish, we can meld them into one key so it when it is placed into a lock, it will automatically revert to the key needed to unlock it."
"That would be a good idea," Harry didn't relish the idea of carrying so many keys about. He was afraid he would lose them.
"Very well," Rasphalt leaned forward and tapped the box with a long index finger three times. The box flashed gold before shimmering then the light died down. Harry opened it to reveal a simple small key. Picking it up, he placed it into his pocket. Rasphalt picked the box back up and waved his hand over it, sending it back to its rightful place.
"Can you tell us if any money has been taken out of the account without Harry's knowledge?" Charlie asked. Rasphalt snapped his dangers and a long roll of parchment appeared in his hand. He placed it on the desk and unrolled it, scanning with it with narrowed eyes.
"Money has been paid to the Dursleys for their guardianship of you," Rasphalt informed with a disapproving glare as he looked at Harry. "This will be refunded to you as soon as possible." He scanned the parchment once more and frowned, this time in confusion. "And money has been distributed to a company named 'The Order'," he looked at Harry. "Do you have any idea who this may be?" Harry nodded.
"It's Dumbledore and bunch of fighters who set up the order once more when Voldemort came back," Harry told him and Rasphalt pursued his lips.
"Will you wish to continue paying for the order or shall I cancel it?" he asked.
"How much am I currently paying right now?"
"Over a million gallon," Rasphalt informed him. Harry's jaw dropped along with Charlie. Rina just looked between the two of them, confused.
"Are you sure?" Harry finally asked and Rasphalt nodded.
"Yes, because you are very wealthy, it barely makes a dent in your vaults but I am assuming that you are not seeing the profits of the money?" Harry shook his head.
"The way Dumbledore acts, you'd think the Order was barely funded considering how one member is constantly stealing and fencing things off. You would think that he would pay the Weasleys for their memberships but they never indicated they are getting money." He looked at Charlie, who nodded in agreement.
"My parents have never said they were getting more money. They never mentioned anything about the funding," Charlie agreed and Harry looked at Rasphalt.
"Cut it down to 500 gallon per month and I will review it at a later date if anything changes. If nothing changes, then I will have to assume that someone is pocketing the money for themselves. Can I also be refunded on the money they took without my permission without the normal 500 gallon I suggested?" Rasphalt nodded.
"Yes, you shall be," Rasphalt made a notation on the parchment next to the Dursleys' name and the order. He checked over the parchment once more and found there was nothing else except from the tuition that Harry had to pay for and his books, school things and clothes. He rolled up the parchment once more. "Before we finish up, is there anyone you wish to have access to your vaults?" Rasphalt asked and Harry nodded.
"Hermione Granger. She's my best friend and I trust her with my life," Harry told him. Rasphalt chuckled.
"I assume she is the one known as the brightest witch at Hogwarts?" Rasphalt asked. Harry stared at him, shocked, and Rasphalt chuckled once more. "The Potter men are famous for picking the smartest women to be their wives. Why else do you think they still have money left?"
"I thought the Potters were famous for picking women with red hair," Charlie spoke up and Rasphalt snorted.
"Please, Jack Potter's wife, Melinda, had black hair. Jack's mother had blonde hair and so on. There has only ever been a record of four women with red hair married into the family. Whoever told you this obviously has no understanding of the history when it comes to the Potters. The women are not based on looks but based on personality and smartness. Merlin knows the Potter men needed them." He muttered the last part. Harry just cracked a grin, he had no problem admitting that Hermione smarter than him. She saved his life on more than one occasion. "Anyway, is there anything else to be discussed? We've covered everything regarding your parents' will."
"I want to see my parents' vaults, especially my mothers," Harry told him and Rasphalt nodded.
"Very well, I will arrange this."
"Could I please have Griphook?" Harry asked and Rasphalt looked at him. Harry flushed. "I met Griphook back in my first time here. He was extremely helpful and I trust him." Rasphalt smiled and nodded.
"I will call for him." He pressed a button on his desk and the door opened to reveal the goblin that had brought them there. "Please escort Mr. Potter and his guardians down to the vault please and wait for Griphook to arrive."
"Yes, my lord," the goblin bowed before gesturing Harry and co to follow him. They followed him through the hallway and back into the main area of the bank before following down to the other doors that lead the way to the cart they would have to take in order to access the vault. Once they reached the cart, the goblin bowed when he saw Griphook standing by the cart before leaving them alone.
"Mr Potter, how nice to see you again," Griphook greeted and Harry smiled.
"It's nice to see you again too, Griphook."
"So, which vault are we to visit?" Griphook asked. Harry handed Griphook the key.
"Lily Evans Potter's Vault," Harry told him and Griphook nodded as he took the key, placed in his pocket and opened the door to the cart. All of them got on with Harry sitting next to Griphook, Charlie and Rina sitting in the back.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this thing?" Rina asked and Charlie grinned, looking at her.
"Because you don't like rollercoaster," Charlie informed her. Rina opened her mouth to say something when the cart shot off without a warning. Harry laughed gleefully as Rina bit down on her lower lip to the point where it was almost bleeding. Charlie whooped and cheered when they reached the twists and turns. Both men threw their arms into the air when they reached a top before plunging downward into the darkness when they heard a roar of fire off to the distance. Rina just clenched her eyes close tightly while her knuckles were turning white where her hands were gripped around the bar.
Once the cart had slowed to a stop, Rina managed to unclench her hands from the bar, turned to Charlie who was still laughing.
"You bastard," Rina hit Charlie on the shoulder before she got off. Harry laughed as he followed her, shaking his head at Charlie.
"Even I know to warn a girl ahead of time," he teased. Charlie just grumbled good-naturedly under his breath as he got out of the cart and followed Griphook as he led the way over to a door. Reaching out a hand, he caressed the door and there was a series of locks clicking, signalling that they were unlocking.
Once it finished, he picked up the key and slid it into the keyhole. Once it was in, it automatically shifted to fit the contours of the lock and Griphook turned it, opening the vault. He stepped back as the door slowly swung open so Harry could see the inside. It was different from the only vault he had seen in his first and second year. There were different things all over the place, lots of muggle things that Harry knew Arthur would love to examine and take apart just to see how it worked when something caught his eyes. Looking closely, the box was standing on four short, silver legs. The box itself was pearl white with silver and gold trimmings. There were gold and silver roses on the edges of the box and the lid was silver.
"Music box," Harry whispered as he reached out a trembling hand and lifted the sliver lid. Once it was lifted, a sweet tune filled the vault as a golden snitch rose up and started swaying with the notes of the music.
"That's so sweet," Rina whispered, lost in the thrall of the music.
"She used to play this for me when I was a baby," Harry whispered.
"You are correct Mr. Potter," Griphook spoke up. "Every time you would cry, she would play the music box and it would calm you down almost straight away. Of course, you preferred to be held during those moments." Harry closed the lid and picked it up and placed it into the bag that Griphook had conjured up, having a feeling that Harry would want to take some of the things home with him.
Looking around, Harry moved further into the room when he saw a gold photo-frame and picked it up, seeing a woman with fiery red hair, bright, emerald green eyes and a brilliant smile. He recognised her instantly from the photos that Hagrid had given him at the end of his first year and the image in the mirror that he had found on the third floor during his first year. Lily Evans Potter.
"She was a beauty," Harry whispered as he ran a finger tenderly over his mother's cheek on the photo.
"You're right," Charlie whispered from where he was leaning over his shoulder. He had heard from his mother that Lily Potter had been a beauty and could see why James had fallen for her. But he could also see why people were convinced that the Potter men were famous for falling for people with red hair and sighed sadly to himself. He just hoped that his little sister had gotten over her crush on the young man.
"Is there anything else you wish to take?" Griphook asked. Harry looked at him before looking at him the photo.
"Just this," Harry whispered, standing up and placing the photo into the bag. "I don't think I can go through anymore things today." Griphook nodded, understanding that it was obviously too emotional for the young man. He shrunk the bag down and handed it to Harry, who slid it into his hoodie pocket. All four of them walked out of the vault, Griphook closed the vault and handed Harry the key before they all got on the cart and made their way back to the top.
Once they reached the top, Griphook led them out into the main area of the bank before bidding them good-day and went back to his workload while Charlie, Rina and Harry made their way out of the bank, ready to go home.
"Are you okay?" Rina reached out, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder. Harry nodded as he looked up at her.
"Yeah, it was nice to have some closure," he whispered. She just smiled sadly at him before Harry redirected the conversation. "So, back to Romania?" asked Harry and got nods as Rina reached out and ruffled his hair.
"Yep, you have a lot of training to go through with the Dragons," she told him. Harry groaned.
**************
Hermione wiped the back of her hand across her forehead to remove the sweat that was beading there. She was currently stuck in the attic thanks to Molly insisting that they should clean the place even better for when Harry finally came back. She had to resist snorting when she heard this. Harry wasn't planning on coming back until Sirius' will reading. She would have told them but decided that they should ask her rather than the other way round.
Molly had tried to get Hermione to work with Ron for the attic but Hermione had begged out of it, claiming that she needed to have time to herself. Ron had picked an argument with her about her shouting that she was worried about Harry and needed to deal with her emotions on her own. Picking fights with her just made her angry. Of course, Molly had tried to get her to change her mind, convinced that Hermione would feel better if she worked with her other best friend.
Thankfully Ginny had cut in and asked her mother if Ron could work with her instead of Hermione because she was working in the ballroom and more hands meant the room would be cleaned quicker. Molly hesitated for a moment before Arthur jumped in and said that was a good idea before offering his and Molly's help. Ginny took it quickly before anyone could protest, leaving Hermione relieved that she was freed from Ron.
She just didn't get Ron. All summer he had been complaining about Harry which led her to becoming annoyed. Their best friend was grieving for his godfather and was god knows where trying to deal with his emotions and all Ron could do was complain that Harry hadn't bothered to come and get him or bothered to go to them to help him with his grieving. All Ron had done was shushed her whenever she tried to approach Harry about Sirius' before the summer. Fat lot of help he would have been if Harry had had gone to them.
Hermione opened a cardboard box and reached in to pick up a dust covered photo-frame. She wrinkled her nose at the thickness of the dust and wondered just how long had they been packed away in the box. She blew of the dust away before sneezing as some of the dust entered her nose. When she finally stopped sneezing, she looked at the photo-frame once more only for shock and disbelief to run through her.
"Oh…" Hermione dropped to her knees, still staring at the photo in her hand before she wiped away the remaining dust and an amused smile crossed her face. The picture contained Harry when he was a baby, he couldn't have been more than four months and already the black hair was messy and his green eyes wide with happiness. There was a smile on his face as he clapped his hand gleefully at whoever was taking the picture. It was weird to see a picture of Harry when he was a baby, a picture of Harry without the scar that marred his forehead that reminded everyone, but her, that he was a hero. To her, it symbolized the hard future that Harry had to look forward to from the age of one when he lost his parents.
Placing the photo to the side, she dug into the box and picked up another photo frame. Blowing the dust away and using her fingers to remove the excess she laughed when she spotted Sirius holding baby Harry. Sirius was on his back with Harry held above him. Sirius was making faces that had Harry giggling and limbs flailing everywhere. She placed that to the side and picked up as much of the photo-frames her slender hands could carry, sat down and looked through them all.
They were different people with Harry, even his parents. Hermione had to stop for a moment when she saw James and could see why everyone said that Harry was practically identical to the older man. But she could see that Harry had Lily's eyes and her smile, the same dopey smile that always caused her heart to flutter. There were even pictures of the gang back in school. Wiping away the tear that slipped free from one eye and trailed down her cheek, she gathered up all the photos and cast a shrinking charm on them before placing them into her pocket so she would be able to put them in her trunk later. She would give them to Harry when she saw him. He needed more photos and she would give them the childhood that he could barely remember.
******************
Harry groaned as he straightened; his back cracking from being hunched over for too long. He had decided to join Charlie in his rounds of checking the dragons and the eggs. He loved dragons, despite his brief stint with Norbert in his first year and the Hungarian horntail in his fourth year. He had been amazed at all the eggs there were and wondered why there weren't more dragons about when Charlie explained that the dragons are sent to different areas of the worlds, depending on the species, where they will be taught how to live in the wild.
Apparently the dragons were considered as a lucky charm among different cultures and they had been so worried about the diminishing numbers that the Romanian government had set up the reserve. They would receive breeding dragons, breed them and look after the hatchlings until they reached the age where they are allowed to be separated from their mothers and sent back to the countries where they would flourish under the protection of the government.
Harry wondered if Scotland had done this. Charlie told him that they used to but as the Ministry started taking less care of the Dragons, they disavowed the agreements and Dragons stopped being sent to Scotland. Harry had been disappointed when he found out about this and understood why Hagrid had brought Norbert home. He was obviously trying to set it back up but had gone about it the wrong way.
Harry asked if the ministry were to get someone who was fair and non-judgmental, would they reconsider the deal. Charlie had nodded and explained that Scotland was the best places for dragons and he would love to see the dragons returned to their rightful places. They were still dragons native to Scotland that were being bred; it was just a matter of waiting for the Government to accept them back in their homeland once more. Harry began thinking, especially after hearing Rina's confession of Fudge offering her promotion if she was to grant him sexual favours and realised that Voldemort wasn't the problem. He was the product of the problems that the Ministry had created.
By refusing to accept muggleborns and refusing to take Tom in because he was a half-blood, they had helped him to become Voldemort. There had been plenty of time for them to bring down Tom Riddle as he started out but they had turned a blind eye because it was muggleborns and half-blood that were being killed, not purebloods.
If he were to sort out the ministry then take out Voldemort, they would be able to turn the wizard community around and accept the fact that no matter what type a person was, they deserved the same chance as everyone else.
There was a cracking sound and Harry turned around to check the nest in time to see a light blue egg was beginning to hatch. Kneeling down, he moved his face in closer, curious to see what the dragon would look like. The egg took a while to fall apart but when it did, Harry was stunned to see a dark blue dragon with black fin like spikes on its back and deep purple eyes. It let out a burp and a small ball of fire erupted from its mouth.
Harry let out a yell, falling onto his butt before he laughed as the dragon let out a yawn and looked around, curious of its surrounding. Harry watched as its mother dipped her head down low and nudged it with her snout. The dragon let out a happy squeal, rubbing its small body against its mother's snout. Harry felt sadness pierce his heart over seeing the mother and child bonding moment and wondered if he had ever had that kind of bonding moment with his own mother, the one where he could greet her happily whenever he recognized her.
The dragons looked at him, sensing his emotions when the mother nudged him, softly, with her snout. Harry smiled at her attempt of cheering him up before he reached up and patted her snout.
"I'm fine, I promise." She let out a soft snort before looking back down at her child. Harry reached down and picked it up causing the dragon to squeal in surprise and protest before turning it onto its back so he could find out what sex it was. When he found what he was looking for, he grinned, turning the squealing dragon back onto its stomach. "It's a girl, congratulations." The baby dragon wriggled her way out of Harry's hands and stumbled as she tried to walk properly, getting used to her legs. Harry chuckled as he watched as she fell onto her side, letting out a startled squeak before she clumsily tried to get back up onto her feet.
Watching the scene for a moment, Harry decided that he should get a move on to check out the other nests. He stood up just as the mother nudged her snout into his side. He chuckled, reaching out once more and patted her snout.
"She's a delight," he told her. The dragon seemed to roll her eyes as she pulled her snout away from Harry and leaned down to her daughter, intent on slowing her daughter down. Harry turned around and walked a few feet away when he was startled by a shout.
Charlie looked over to see that Harry had turned his back to the dragons and was about to go somewhere else when the mother seemed to say something to her hatchling. The hatchling looked at Harry then looked at her mother before glee entered her eyes and she propelled herself through the air at Harry's back. Fear ran through Charlie.
"No!" Charlie shouted but it was too late. Harry turned around only for something hard to collide with his chest. There was a deep searing pain on his lower stomach. He fell backward, his butt hitting the ground with a hard thud before his back went backward. His head met a rock as it cracked the back of his head.
Gazing upward, he saw his vision was going blurry. He could hear someone shouting his name in the distance when the pain suddenly let go of his stomach. Looking down, he could see doleful dark purple eyes looking into his as the darkness edged around his visions before he gave up fighting and allowed the darkness to overtake him.
TBC
Huh…cliff-hanger…*makes a run for it*