"Do you think the goblins will contest your claim?"
"I don't know, pup. The goblins are pesky little creatures. We'll just have to ask them and see."
Both godfather and godson were strolling through Diagon Alley. It was after a week from destroying Slytherin's locket that Harry finally revealed what he learned. According to the locket horcrux's memories, by the time of its creation there already had been three other horcruxes. The black diary of Tom Riddle was the first to be created followed by two others. Sirius was horrified when he heard that one of them was given to his late cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, to safekeep. After calming down a bit, Sirius speculated that his dear demented cousin could have stored it inside her Gringotts vault. That was where they were headed in now.
Harry remembered fondly his first interactions with the goblins. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he was a nervous seven-year-old trying to find his place in the world. Desperate to find anything related to his dead parents and to escape the horrible life at Number 4 Privet Drive.
And he found it. He was a wizard. He had a place among his kind. Most of all he had a family. Sirius, Remus, Tilley, Moppy, Loki, Shelley, Midas, and all the other elves, he would protect all of them even if he had to destroy his enemies. Permanently. He had already destroyed two horcruxes but there were two more out there. This Dark Lord and his Death Eaters had been the cause of his family splintering in the first place. His parents dead from a Death Eater raid which miraculously he was the only one to survive the wreckage. His godfather was falsely imprisoned because of Peter Pettigrew, another Death Eater, who was also the one to reveal the secret location of the Potters. These monsters in human skin, who had caused untold amount of terrors, destroying whole families, they have made an enemy out of him. And Harry Potter vowed to repay them in kind ten, no, a hundredfold starting with the two remaining horcruxes.
As man and child walked through the busy marketplace that was Diagon Alley, Harry touched the hidden necklace underneath his clothes. The stone was smaller now. He had miscalculated. He only had maybe two or three years more before the stone was completely absorbed by his body. Maybe transforming into Mewtwo and liberally using his powers the way he had been had hastened the process. He had been practicing quite a lot these days feeling restless, like he needed to be prepared. Regardless, he was already doing that and more.
Finally arriving at the bank they made their way inside nodding at the guards. The Black Family account manager was maybe as old as the Potter account manager, Longblade. He was fierce looking goblin that had many scars on his body.
"Lord Black, what can Gringotts assist you with today?" The goblin said in a raspy voice after pleasantries were exchanged.
"I would like to know what happened to Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."
"Ah, the late Madame Lestrange. We have been waiting for a long time to settle her vault. There have been attempts at acquiring the late Madame's vault by undisclosed parties but as there are no other Lestranges alive remaining and you are the Lord of House Black, you alone can access it. If you had perished before siring the next generation of Blacks, inheritance of both the Black and Lestrange vaults will go to your chosen heir, to one Harry James Potter."
Both of them looked at each other surprised that they had claim over Bellatrix's vault.
"May I know who had attempted to access my cousin's vault before we arrived here?" The goblin looked at them sternly at that as if assessing them.
"Hmmm. Know that the identity and personal business of clients here at Gringotts are severely protected. The reason I am only telling you is because you now hold rights to the Lestrange vault and any attempts to swindle it from you is to be reported otherwise that information cannot be disclosed. The identity of the person in question is Madame Lestrange's sister, one Narcissa Malfoy."
Huh. So the Malfoys tried to acquire Bellatrix's vault. Well, it was only expected, he supposed. She was her sister after all. But fortunately for them she wasn't successful.
"I see. I would like Bella's vault transferred to the main Black vault, please. But before you do that we'd like to visit it first."
Sirius's request was quickly arranged and before they knew it they were on a cart going further underground.
Arriving at the vault in question, they disembarked and the goblin guiding them approached it. Swiping a long finger the vault's mechanisms activated and opened. Sirius was the only one who could go inside but Harry could see just fine just beyond the door.
There were gold, lots of it, and other priceless treasures but they weren't interested in that. The only thing they intended to take out was a golden chalice, Hufflepuff's Cup. Harry helped the older man not to touch any of the things inside out of the way with his telekinesis. Who knows what nasty protections Bellatrix had in her vault. After a bit of looking Sirius finally found it. The chalice was on a pedestal like it was the most important thing in there, proudly on display. It probably was. As a Hogwarts Founder's lost artifact it was an irreplaceable piece of history. Too bad they were going to destroy it.
Sirius produced a cloth bag and while Harry levitated it, the older man caught it inside.
Done with their business they quickly left the vault and the bank.
"I'm glad that's over. What's next pup?" Sirius didn't really like Bellatrix at all. She had been bloody mad. He was glad that she was gone.
"First give me the bag, Sirius. I can feel it trying to worm inside your head already." Harry narrowed his eyes.
"Shit. Here, take it. Bloody hell. Thanks, pup." Sirius sighed in relief as he handed it over.
"Language, Sirius. What are you doing with a potty mouth around your godson. What would your poor mother say?" Harry couldn't help but tease Sirius a little.
"Hey!"
"Also, I don't know how Kreacher survived being near one of these things for more than a decade. Or maybe not and that's why he's gone a bit crazy. Oh, We're going to Little Hangleton."
"Alright. Let's get this over with."
—-
Teleporting to Little Hangleton was a simple affair, looking for their target was a bit annoying though. Sirius tried asking the locals while Harry scanned their minds. Harry knew that the Gaunt shack was near the abandoned Riddle manor and they just needed some directions. The Riddles had been famous in Little Hangleton a long time ago for being affluent and the manor more so as a famous landmark. Asking one of the locals had been enough to quickly locate it and both of them were off.
The Riddle manor was a grand structure that looked like it may have been a sight to see once but now it was decrepit and old. The once painted walls were peeling and gray. What would have been a luscious garden was now just dry dirt. There really was nothing much to look at. It looked more like one of those muggle haunted houses.
"Maybe, a different vantage point?" Harry suggested.
Sirius nodded and with a wave one his wand both of them were disillusioned. Harry flew them both high up to find their target. Quickly finding it they flew over.
The Gaunt shack was just that…a dilapidated shack. It had a roof and four walls. The roof even a had a hole in it. Dead snakes were also nailed on the door. Overgrown weeds grew up to knee height. Whoever had lived here lived in squalor.
Landing at the property's boundary Harry could feel some wards set up around it.
"Ready a shield just in case." Sirius silently nodded.
Stepping over the ward line both of them heard hissing. Suddenly hundreds of venomous snakes attacked them! Cobras, vipers, diamond backs and more lunged at them from all around. Harry pulled his godfather close to him and erected a solid shield. The snakes tried getting past through it but all they did was bounce off.
"Incendio!"
Sirius helped by conjuring controlled flames and burning the snakes to coals, the red flames passing through the shield easily. Some of them writhed in agony at being torched until finally they ceased to move. Keeping up the spell Sirius kept burning the little bastards until none of them were left. He panted slightly at keeping the fire-making charm for too long.
"Are they dead?"
"Yeah. That's a lot of snakes." Harry could have easily subdued them but he wanted to see how his godfather handled it.
"Come on. I want to go home soon and have Moppy make me some treacle tarts." He loved treacle tarts! They're the food of the gods! He could write poems and songs about them. Their soft gooey texture that melts in your mouth at the first bite. The sweetness that was just right. Oh, treacle tarts, how he wanted to…
"Harry, you're drooling." Sirius snickered.
"Ahem." Harry wiped his mouth and glared at his obnoxious godfather. Didn't he know that treacle tarts are the gift of the divine?! How dare he laugh at him…this uncultured flea-ridden mutt.
"Hmph. Let's just go." Turning up his nose at his amused godfather he sidestepped the carnage in front of them.
Finally arriving in front of the door Harry became serious. No, he wasn't Sirius, dammit. Shaking off his thoughts he focused on what was in front of him. The door was barely hanging on its hinges and there were snakes nailed on it. He scrunched up his nose. How distasteful.
"Be careful. I don't need to tell you not to touch anything. The malice here is almost tangible." Harry narrowed his eyes. His godfather was also subdued, his earlier amusement gone.
Extending his hand towards the door, Harry made a yanking motion and the door flew off its hinges. Settling it to the side not caring to leave any evidence they passed the threshold. It was dusty inside, the mold and other unidentifiable things clung to the flimsy walls and floorboards. The furniture lay in heaps with some practically reduced to kindling. Harry reached out with his mind and sought out anything that stood out. There!
In the corner of the room there was a loose floor tile and Harry lifted it. Under it, light reflected off something shiny. It was a golden box. It was an ugly thing made of solid gold no larger than a palm. With a hand gesture the lid clicked open and not surprisingly purple miasma erupted from it. Harry turned into Mewtwo and erected his most powerful barrier.
'Protect!'
A more powerful shield than earlier manifested protecting them from the possibly poisonous and clearly corrosive purple mist. If they weren't so far from it and he hadn't acted in a snap their faces and skins would have melted off. Everything the mist touched it turned into a puddle of goo, like wax. Soon even the walls and the roof collapsed on themselves and only the spherical shield and the golden box remained but the miasma still persisted.
"Ventus!" Sirius brandished his wand and incanted loudly producing a strong gale blowing the harmful mist away.
"Nice reflexes, Harry."
'Yeah. That was nasty.' He replied in his godfather head. He really needed to learn how to speak properly as Mewtwo.
Seeing that there weren't any more surprises, Harry levitated the box closer so they could see what it contained. It was a ring. The band was made of silver and a small black rock sat on top of it. The rock was still peculiar to his senses and he felt drawn to it. It didn't feel malicious or anything just that the piece of rock had a weird energy. Hmmm. Making a decision Harry gestured with his hand and plucked the rock off the ring band. It came off surprisingly easily. The ring itself however…he told his godfather to ready another cloth bag.
"Are you sure what you're doing, pup? That rock could be cursed." Sirius said worriedly.
'No. The rock is fine. The ring though is what we came here for.' With another gesture the ring found its place in the bag.
"If you're sure…" He was still worried but he trusted his godson.
'Yeah. Now let's go back. Remus has probably burned a hole through the carpet by now.'
With that said they teleported back home.
—-
In an unknown part of the Albanian Forests, a certain disembodied Dark Lord was biding his time for a chance to get his body back. The animals he possessed were quick to succumb to the strain of housing another soul. Angry at his predicament but totally helpless he persevered. Soon, he will get back what was his. Soon, he will come back more powerful than any being! He was a god walking amongst mortals. Even now he was not dead but an immortal! And soon when the time comes he would continue his reign of terror and rule as the undisputed king of the whole world! The snake he inhabited started hissing manically. It's red malicious eyes gleamed in the dark of the forest while he slithered away looking for the next unsuspecting body to inhabit.
Little did he know, he was ever closer to being mortal. The small remaining part of his soul was so weak that it was numb to its connection to its other pieces. And soon, two more will cease to exist.
—-