"What are you smiling about Harry?" Hermione asked once the food arrived.
Harry had been in a great mood all through the final meal and of course Hermione wanted to know why. It was good that Pansy made him face the opposite way, as he was pretty sure the goofy grin on his face would be a dead give away. Now he just had to figure out the right way to lie to Hermione.
"Its nice to be able to end this year. No more giant snakes or fraudulent teachers, just the three of us eating together. It feels... normal I guess. After the last seven months or so, normal is a relief."
"Well, I'm certainly glad to be eating with you again instead of being frozen stiff in the infirmary. I'm also glad that at least one of you was visiting me, even if I don't remember it."
"Hey, I visited too!" Ron argued, with only moderate amounts of food flying out his mouth. One of these days, someone was going to have to teach him table manners.
"I'm sure you did, Ronald, but Madame Pomfrey told me how Harry came to see me every day while I was out."
"What can I say? I'm a great friend and you were a great listener for me to tell all my troubles and secrets to."
"I wasn't actually listening though, Harry."
"I know, that made it perfect," Harry said as Hermione rolled her eyes at him. One of the great things about Hermione was knowing just how to annoy her playfully enough to get the reaction without truly angering her. "So, either of you have any big plans for the summer?" Ron started to mumble something with an enormous mouthful of food but Harry raised his hand and said, "You first Hermione."
"Well, my family often goes on vacations during the summer and I know my parents had talked of possibly going to France this year, but I obviously haven't been in touch with them much recently. Hopefully, that trip will still be on though. Mum taught me French when I was younger but I haven't practiced it in quite awhile. I'd love to see the Louvre."
"You'll have to tell me all about it when you get back. I imagine a proper letter describing it would be too heavy for Hedwig to carry," Harry said with a chuckle. "She might be mad at me for suggesting such a thing. I'm sure I just insulted her honor or something."
"Only you, Harry, would be worried about offending his owl."
Ron stopped eating long enough to say that he doubted his family would be doing anything special this summer but offered to let Harry visit at some point.
"I'm sure that would be nice, assuming nothing comes up." Harry felt a little bad at this point, he was pretty sure there was no way he'd see Ron over the summer. He had important things to do though, goofing off with Ron would have to wait. Plus, Mrs. Weasley was far too domineering for Harry's tastes. The last thing he needed was yet another adult that knew what was best for him without actually knowing anything about Harry. Being in close proximity to Ginny would also probably not be for the best, as she was still unable to speak around him for the most part. Occasionally she did manage to say a few words before blushing & running off. Harry wasn't cruel enough to ruin her whole summer by forcing her to do just that for days on end.
Harry went to bed early that night. He was going to need his rest for tomorrow.
Harry ate a larger breakfast the next day and chatted with Hermione while Ron hurried to do all his packing at the last minute, which seemed to be a Weasley family trait. The twins were doing something similar and Ginny hadn't come down from her dorm yet either. Percy, of course, was punctual but he often seemed like the black sheep of the family. Harry asked Hermione to teach him a few French words as he'd never had any chance to learn another language. For some reason, she refused to teach him to swear, not even when he argued that he'd need to know when the French were speaking ill of him. The French were not known for appreciating tourists, especially ones from the UK. Of course, Harry had never been on a vacation of any sort and had obviously never traveled to the continent before. That would be something for him to look into, and he began to wonder if Pansy had traveled much.
The train ride from Hogwarts was thankfully uneventful. Harry's nerves were glad for the down time. Unknown to him, Dobby had confused Draco with his elf magic when he got the bright idea of being his usual obnoxious, arrogant self and therefore he forgot to make his rounds annoying everyone else. Harry absent-mindedly patted his pocket where he had his cloak hidden. When they arrived at King's Crossing, Harry took a deep breath. 'Here we go.'
As his friends opened the door and started off down the hall, Harry hung back for a moment and a familiar dark haired girl stepped into his path, separating him from Ron & Hermione. He heard a quiet pop behind him as Dobby took his belongings and Harry flung the cloak over himself. He waited for a clear path off the train and slipped through the nearest door. He saw Ron & Hermione looking around for him near the rest of the Weasleys. He looked away and hoped that the next time he saw his friends he would have a great story to tell them.
To his left, he saw Pansy meeting an older woman by the floos who could only be her mother. She must have been attractive when she was younger as Pansy had clearly inherited her looks. She could even have been quite pleasant still to look at but she had a scowl on her face and was clearly annoyed at having to interact with her daughter. He sadly thought that could be Pansy's fate if she was forced to marry someone like Malfoy and spent the rest of her life full of bitterness and regret. This was not something that Harry would allow.
He walked past her and once he got to an empty floo, he went straight to the Leaky Cauldron. He kept his cloak on as he made his way through the busy pub and down Diagon Alley itself until he got to the doors of Gringotts. Once there, he made his way to the shortest line for a teller and steeled himself for a meeting that would hopefully change his life.
Meanwhile, Pansy had been carefully calming herself and locking down as many of her emotions as she could. She was as neutral as possible as her mother picked her up from the train and noticed a floo activate without anyone seemingly going through it. She knew Harry was off to Gringotts. This meant she was now going to play the waiting game.
The good news for her was that her father was out of the country on business, which hopefully meant he would be gone for quite a while. Their house elf Leddy took Pansy's trunk away and Pansy followed her mother through a floo and back home. The Parkinson family manor was quite beautiful on the outside but full of dark brooding rooms. Pansy went straight to her bedroom and began to organize her things. She got her school work out and began sorting what she would need to get done over the summer. Then she went through her clothes as well as looking through her wardrobe at what she may want to take with her if she succeeded in escaping. Really, Pansy was just doing anything she could to keep busy, trying not to think about what Harry might be doing at the time or how quickly she may be able to get in touch with him. She continued her busy work till Leddy called her down for dinner. All in all, it was a quiet peaceful day for her but that did not keep her from worrying for Harry's sake.
At Gringotts, Harry found himself led to a private room where an older goblin was waiting for him. "I am assistant manager Vogruk. Welcome Mr. Potter, we are glad to finally meet you."
"Thank you sir," Harry had learned that being direct and polite was usually the best way to get things done.
"Impressive manners for a wizard. I assume you are here to claim your inheritance and take up your head of family?"
"Yes sir. Is there anything I should know beforehand? I have never received any correspondence from Gringotts and did not even know of the bank till a couple of years ago."
"That is not good news Mr. Potter, but we should be able to get everything straightened out. Call forth your family ring and we can get right to work."
Harry called for the Potter family ring as the last heir of the line and it appeared before him in a flash of light. Harry looked at it briefly, it featured a sapphire stone and as he picked it up, Harry could feel the magic of the ring. It felt as if it were humming to him. He slipped it onto his smallest finger on his left hand and felt magic surge through his body. At first there was a flash of pain but it passed after a moment and then Harry felt more alive than he ever had.
The ring had been waiting for Harry and finally its master had joined with it. Centuries of magic, knowledge and power finally had the boy that was the last hope for the Potter line. Harry knew at once that magic was alive. And magic did not want to see the end of the Potters. It expected great things from him and somehow Harry knew that it wanted him to know just how much potential he had within him.
"Congratulations Lord Potter," the old goblin said as Harry began to control the feelings the ring had stirred within him. "This folder contains a list of various assets you have. Please looks things over and I can explain whatever you may need."
Harry took the paperwork and began flipping through things. Other than his vault, he found that he had various investments in both the magical and non-magical worlds. He also had a variety of properties that he'd have to check on. One of them in particular stood out to him. "Vogruk, what can you tell me about this property?"
"That is the one property that did not come from the Potter line. Your mother received a fairly large payment upon the deaths of her parents when she was a teenager. She used it to purchase this property and lived there for a time both before and after her final year at Hogwarts. The occupants have remained the same for the last 15 years. According to our records, the top flat is still empty as your mother never rented it out after she married."
"So it's possible that some of her things may still be there?"
"Quite possible. If nothing else, the couple that live there should be able to tell you more."
"And they knew my mother?" Harry's heart was thrilled at the idea of someone being able, and hopefully willing for once, to talk to him about one of his parents.
"They were her neighbors for part of a year. You should know that they are squibs and therefore aware of who you are, more so than just being the son of Lily Potter. Or Lily Evans as they knew her. You will also be glad to note that we have never had any problems with them, even after your mother's death. However, it was found to be easier for all concerned to have things set up through a muggle bank that we are in contact with. Therefore, you also have an account at Barclays originally set up in your mother's name. If you will sign these documents, it will officially be under your control now."
Harry signed them and was handed another piece of paper showing his new muggle bank account. It was a lot of money, apparently expenses for his mother's property had been dealt with by Gringotts, leaving the account to merely accumulate rent and interest ever since the 70s.
"While your family ring can be used similarly to a portkey to transfer you to the various Potter properties, we would need to create one for you to travel to the building owned by your mother. The fee for doing so would be 5 galleons or 10 for a reusable device."
"I'd like the reusable option."
"Excellent," Vogruk called for an underling who went to get the portkey. Vogruk went over some questions Harry had of the various properties and investments. Harry would need a lot more time to study them before making any decisions. A few moments later, a goblin brought in what appeared to be a silver chain that was nearly two feet in length. Harry was told the password, took up the folders of financial and property information and made plans to revisit Vogruk in August, once he had time to really go over things and decide if any changes would need to be made.
Before leaving Gringotts, he went into a restroom and put his invisibility cloak back on. He activated the portkey and was transferred to the side walk directly in front of a 3 story building. The ground floor contained a tea and coffee shop. The owners were an older couple, the Brightwells, who also lived in the flat above it. The top floor was another flat which his mother had lived in once upon a time. Harry slipped into the shadows and removed his cloak once he made sure no one would spot him appearing out of thin air. He braced himself and opened the door to the shop.
A woman that he supposed must be Mrs. Ruby Brightwell welcomed him inside. She was short and slightly plump with red hair that was starting to grey. It was the early afternoon and the room was almost empty. Harry stepped up to the counter and ordered some tea.
"Here you go, deary. Anything else I can get you?"
"I'd like to talk to you actually. I'm Lily's son." The woman turned to him with a shock and looked up to his forehead, then looked back down.
"Yes, you have her eyes. She was such a sweet girl," Mrs. Brightwell said sadly. "I'm sorry for your loss Mr. Potter."
"Thank you ma'am. Is your husband home?"
"He's out having a late lunch at a pub with some friends. He'll be back in an hour or two before business picks up."
"Well, I'd like to discuss some things with the both of you, tonight if possible."
"We have a girl that works the evenings with us. By 8 or 9 at the latest, we should be able to leave things to her for a bit. If this is going to be a long talk, it would have to wait till after closing time, which is 10."
"It shouldn't be that long. Do you get any magical customers?"
"Very rarely, this is a muggle neighborhood. Our son is a wizard but he doesn't come by very often. Why do you ask?"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that you've seen me." The older woman looked at Harry shrewdly and nodded in agreement. "I'm going up to the top flat. I'll be back by the evening to meet with you and your husband."
With that, Harry finished his tea and went outside. He entered a separate door with the key he'd gotten from Gringotts and made his way up the stairs to the top floor. He took a deep breath, unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The flat was still furnished, although the main room looked a bit spartan. It was large though, an open floor plan that had a kitchen area to the left of the door. There was a fireplace on the rear wall of the building and a door to one side that led out to a balcony. He went out onto the balcony and looked out over the rear yard, which slanted downhill to a stream running roughly parallel to the street out front. Beyond it was a small wooded area that followed the stream. On the other side of the trees, maybe a third of a mile away at most, was another neighborhood. He could see a park stretching out of the trees with a playground area full of children and a pitch with a dozen or so older kids playing football.
Harry went back inside and headed over to the fireplace. He drew his wand and focused his magic. After a moment, he found a glowing stone near the mantle. He made a small cut on his hand and held it against the stone. At once, he felt the ward stone accept him. He walked over to the kitchen area and found a book that had appeared. He opened it and found only a few names that had access to the area. Other than James Potter, the only names he recognized were the Brightwells. He crossed through all the other names, then added Pansy and Dobby. He wasn't sure if he needed to add the elf, but thought it better safe than sorry.
"Dobby," he called and immediately the elf popped in with Harry's trunk and Hedwig. "Welcome to our new home."