Chapter 16 Diagon Alley

November 3, 1994

Harry got up the next morning feeling much calmer. He went to classes and spent his breaks with friends on the houseboat, only leaving for PE. It was after classes he went and changed his clothes. He slicked back his blue and silver streaked hair as best he could and donned a suit. It was a dark blue suit, which matched the blue in his hair. He added a matching fedora. In his opinion he looked pretty cool.

Harry met up with Neville, who was wearing a dark green suit. And they went to the front of the boat. As they discovered the day before, Jumping worked in Hogwarts, so they nodded to each other and disappeared. They reappeared next to Gilly, Sirius and Agent Mumford, who were waiting at the edge of the lake. Harry took a minute to take in their attire, while he knew Aunt Gilly and Agent Mumford could blend, he wanted to make sure Sirius did. So his eyes roved over the trio of adults.

Gilly had on her usual flowing skirts and a nice blouse. The skirts were three different shades of grey and made of heavier material than she was used to. The blouse was pink and had flowing sleeves. She wore a long grey winter's coat over the top. Sirius was dressed in black robes with red and gold highlights. He was ever the Gryffindor. Agent Mumford had on a woman's pants suit, like most government agents on assignment. You could see the slight bulge where her gun was, not that the wizards in this country would know what it was.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Gilly asked as she straightened up Harry's tie and tried to flatten his hair more. She gave it up as a lost cause and put his hat back on him.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Neville answered. After meeting the kids at Hogwarts he was hopeful that no one recognized Harry. That would be a nightmare, and with Harry's temper it could turn into a political one as well.

"I think you're going to love Diagon Alley," Sirius said, rubbing his hands and grinning like a loon. He was just so excited. He remembered the first time he went to the Alley as a kid. Thank Merlin, it wasn't with his mother, no, it was his Uncle Alphard who took him there when he was five. Out of all his relatives that man was his favorite uncle. He never subscribed to the whole pure-blood genre, and was blasted off the tree for it. It was thanks to him that Sirius survived when he ran away. Well the Potters helped, but had Alphard not left him money he would have had do bum off the Potters until he found work. Since he was raised a pure-blood that would have taken a very long time.

"Pffft, maybe, if the people there aren't idiots," Harry scoffed, batting Gilly's hands away from where they were still trying to straighten his already straight tie. She must be nervous, he thought.

"Well, I wouldn't count on that," Sirius said, rubbing his forehead. He knew what all of magical Britain thought of Harry. And judging from how yesterday's breakfast went, he doubt the adults would be any better. He was glad Harry decided to wear a hat and that his new hair style wasn't in the papers yet. When it did get out, that hat wasn't going to help.

"That is what I'm afraid of. Do we have to do this today?" Harry asked, turning his big green eyes to his aunt.

"Yes, and don't you try those puppy eyes with me," she told him as she resisted messing up his hair, though she did give the fedora a small flick. "We'll get done as quickly as we can. Sirius said there's an ice cream parlor there, if you're a good boy we can get some chocolate ice cream when you're done," she added in a cute little voice, teasing her nephew.

The boys perked up and disregarded the teasing note. Sirius and Remus had both told them about Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and the many different flavors of ice cream they had. "Speaking of chocolate have you gone to Honeydukes yet? The aunts wanted you to send them back some candy," Neville asked as they made their way across the grounds.

"I was going to wait till this weekend, but then someone got detention. I'll go tomorrow and have Kippy take some back," Gilly said. She couldn't wait to get her hand on some of that world famous chocolate. "Unless you want to come with me, Neville," she stated, knowing Neville wasn't the chocolate hog Harry was. He shook his head and gestured that she should go ahead without him.

"It wasn't my fault. Well, it was, but not completely. Did you hear what they were saying? They all talked like I was the reincarnation of Merlin and that it was my job to save them all," Harry defended himself. "My job. Like that was my whole reason for being." He waved his hands in the air, showing his frustration. "I thought after all these years that would have died out, I mean really," he pouted.

"Don't start, you know better than to lose your temper like that. Your magic gets all wonky," Gilly said, giving him a one armed hug as they left the gates of Hogwarts. "We'll come and visit you whenever we can," she tried to cheer him up. That did perk him up a bit.

"Come on, let's get to Gringotts," Sirius said, leading the way to The Three Broomsticks.

"I hate the Floo," Harry grumbled. He could Jump and even Apparate, but Floos hated him. Portkeys weren't much better.

"I keep telling you, all you have to do is pause before you step out of the Floo. Then you won't wind up on your arse," Sirius lectured —again. He never understood why someone so graceful in the air couldn't use the Floo.

"And I keep telling you, I have no idea when I've come to my stop. I just shoot out of the fireplace," Harry snapped back. Even Luis had tried to get him to be more graceful when it came to Flooing, but for some reason, no matter what he tried, he still landed on his butt.

"Stop it, both of you. This argument is getting old. Harry, you only have to use the Floo one time, then you can Jump," Gilly said. She hated when people argued, especially with her boys.

"Sorry, Aunt Gilly," Harry said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Sorry, sweetie," Sirius said, kissing the other cheek and put his arm around her waist and gave a squeeze.

They continued down High Street and the Americans looked around. Hogsmeade was a quaint village, with wooden store fronts and slated roofs. The thatched cottages with the wooden awnings, the gas lamplights, and the cobblestone streets, made it look like something off a postcard. Harry couldn't make up his mind whether to think it was cute or far behind the times. He decided that it was both.

The Three Broomsticks was warm, crowded, and a bit smoky, but clean and welcoming. A mirror behind the bar reflected the cozy atmosphere. The barkeep, Madam Rosmerta, was a lovely middle aged woman, who had a beautiful smile. She made you feel right at home in her bar, or Harry guessed he should call it a pub or inn, those stairs had to lead to somewhere, and he figured it was rooms to let.

"Sirius Black, as I live and breathe, are you stopping for tea today?" the blonde lady asked as she wiped some glasses. "Or perhaps something stronger?" she inquired, looking at the dressed up group.

"Ah, the lovely Rosmerta," Sirius said with a smile as he made his way to the bar. "It is wonderful to see you again. We will not be stopping in today. Sorry, but we have business to attend to," he said, taking her hand and giving it a kiss, which caused her to smack him on his chest. "I would like to introduce my wonderful lady friend, Gillian Owens, her nephews, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter, and of course, our escort of the day, Agent Mumford." He indicating each person with a sweep of his hand and they all nodded in turn.

To her credit, she didn't do more that gasp at the name and flick her eyes to Harry's forehead, which of course was covered by his hat. She then turned her attention to Gilly. "It is wonderful to meet the woman who could tame this scoundrel," Madam Rosmerta laughed and held out her hand.

"It was a lot of work, I tell ya," Gilly said, taking the hand and giving it a friendly shake.

"Madam Rosmerta, you have a lovely establishment. Were we not in a hurry, I would like nothing more than to feast on the delicious smelling food," Harry said politely, taking the woman's hand and kissing it.

Rosmerta nodded at the good manners of the young man. "Thank you for the compliment. I am sure you'll find time in the future." She gave the teens a saucy smile, then a wink. She then laughed at their blushes. It was one of the reasons she opened this pub, so that she could playfully tease the growing boys in hopes they overcome their shyness. "You two will be such lady killers when you are older," she said with a big smile, making them blush more.

"Ah, come on Rosmerta, leave the boys alone," Sirius whinged, he knew full well she was just joking around. His memories of her doing the same to him and his friends were some of the better memories he had of Hogwarts.

A blushing Neville and Agent Mumford gave their greetings and farewells, and the group set off to the Floo. Adding a couple of Sickles to the pot next to the powder, they each entered the fireplace called out "Diagon Alley" and went on their way.

Harry went last as Agent Mumford wanted to make sure it was safe before he got to the Leaky Cauldron. The streak-haired teen, as usual, shot out of the Floo and landed on his bum. He got up and waved his hand and straightened his suit. All the ash disappeared and the wrinkles flattened. He looked around and noted that they were inside another pub. There was a major difference between this one and The Three Broomsticks.

The Leaky Cauldron was dark and shabby, with a bar and a number of tables in the shadows of the corners. The tables and floor were crusty and the corners had cobwebs in them. There only were a few patrons at the moment, a couple of hags in the corner and a man reading a non-magical science book. This shocked the party, as they thought all British wizards thought non-magicals were just above apes.

Sirius waved to the barman, whose toothless head looked like a walnut. "Just passing through, Tom," he called as he escorted his group to the back.

"Good to see ya, Sirius," the bald man called back and continued wiping a dirty glass with a not so clean towel.

"Do people really eat there?" Harry asked quietly, the minute they were out of the bar, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Oi, I'll have you know Tom makes some of the best food in Diagon Alley," Sirius said defensively.

"That may be so, but that place would have been closed down by a Health Inspector in a minute back home. Good food is all well and good, but the rest of the joint was filthy," Harry argued back as he looked around the little alley they were in. It was a small brick square that had a few garbage cans and some broken chairs, nothing like the store that fronted the entrance to SunSpot Alley.

"I'm with Harry on this one," Gilly said, shuddering a little at the thought of eating in that place.

"Me too," Neville added his two cents worth.

"What about you, Agent Mumford?" Sirius asked as he folded his arms over his chest. He was very put out that everyone was ganging up on him. He adored Tom's cooking and was a bit upset that they were putting it down.

"I'm sorry, Sirius, but they're right, if this place were inspected it would be shut down," the Agent said, holding her hand up in a what-can-you-do motion.

Sirius deflated, after living in the States these past few years, he knew they were right. Still it was the principle of the matter. This is his home —he looked at Gilly and added to himself —was his home. "Fine," he grumbled and then took out his wand and tapped the bricks to open the archway to Diagon Alley. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," he said with a flourishing wave of his arm.

Inside the Alley is an assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights; some even had tables out front with colored umbrellas. The shops include many school-supply stores; there are also many locations important to the wizarding world, such as Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Ollivander's wand shop.

The group looked at Diagon Alley and couldn't help comparing it to SunSpot Alley. The contrast was vast, where SunSpot was clean and organized; Diagon Alley was cluttered with many stalls and kiosk, and looked like magic was holding many of the stores together. The dimness of Scotland's winter sun paled to the light that was ever present in SunSpot. Diagon Alley was noisy, where the mall was calmer. Though they had to admit that this place had character, it was a plethora of color, where SunSpot was all muted browns and gold.

"Gringotts is that big white building towards the middle of the Alley," Sirius said as he guided them through the street.

The boys looked around as they passed the shops. There were quite a few they wouldn't mind looking at when they were done with Gringotts. The broom shop looked promising and Harry wouldn't mind shopping in the pet store. He had left his snakes at home and was wondering if they had some here he wouldn't be able to find in the States. If they did he could purchase some, and have Kippy take them home. In his opinion one can never have too many pets. That and he liked creeping Sirius out when he talked to his pets. That man still did a full body shiver every time, it was funny as hell.

The brothers shuddered as they passed the mouth of a dark street. You could just feel the wrongness of Knockturn Alley. They peeked down the dark cramped street and saw hags selling what looked to be human fingers. There were men and women, in hooded robes, scurrying among the shops. None of the storefronts had light in the windows and they looked to be in worse condition than those in Diagon Alley. The foreboding atmosphere was enough to keep the boys from wanting to explore.

As the party walked down the cobblestone street, they felt eyes gazing upon them. They were some of the few people that were dressed in non-magical clothes, not to mention Harry's hair. They ignored the stares and stopped to look at the large white marble building that was Gringotts. Unlike the Gringotts in SunSpot Alley, this building was imposing.

"Now, Harry, remember we're here about the Peverell and Gryffindor accounts. Do you think you can remember that?" Gilly said as she once more straightened his tie.

"I'll try, but with the curse…" he trailed off with a frown. He hated the fact that there was a curse on his family. It reminded him too much of the trials that the Owens women faced for centuries.

"Do your best, sweetie," she said as she ran a hand down his face and then adjusted his hat.

The group nodded to the guards and made their way inside. Goblins guarded the doors with wicked looking bladed weapons. Their faces were stoic, but Harry could see the small sneer every time they opened the door. Then there was the poem/hex on the second set of doors, which Harry found a bit over the top. This gave off the feeling they didn't trust wizards. The group just shrugged it off as the way goblins treated everyone.

Inside there were about a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these.

They waited their turn in line and when they made it to the front, the goblin teller growled at them, "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry," Harry said a little snidely, "are you having a bad day? Because, I've got to tell you, that is no way to greet important customers." He folded his arms and looked down his nose at the grumpy clerk. Luis said to never let anyone treat you with bad manners, to make sure you let them know right away that it was unacceptable, though Harry probably shouldn't be so sarcastic.

"Oh, important are you? Well, we will just see about that. Name?" the goblin sneered back, his beady black eyes narrowed. He was too used to wizards thinking they were above everyone else. This one didn't even have the courtesy to take off his hat.

"Harry Potter," the teen wizard sniffed, like he was some pure-blood. He could picture Luis in his head, shaking his own head like he was wondering where he went wrong, but Harry wasn't going to put up with crap from anyone.

The goblin froze and his face paled a funny shade of grey. He looked around like he would be struck dead at any second. Every goblin knew the story of Harry Potter being protected by Death. He straightened up and with his politest voice said, "I apologize. What can Gringotts do for you today?"

"I would like to see Head Accountant Spearhead, he is expecting me," Harry answered, not relaxing his stance. "I would also like it if Mr. Roberts could be called in." He handed him the card that the lawyer had given to Death all those years ago.

"Of course, if you and your party will follow me," the still unnamed goblin said as he jumped off his high stool. He led the way to a meeting room.

It was simple, the polished wooden floors and the white marble walls complemented each other. The large wooden table with ten comfortable chairs was the only furniture in the room. There were some weapons on the wall, which were probably meant to show that the goblins weren't intimidated by wizards.

"Spearhead will be with you momentarily," the teller said as he left the room, his eyes still shifting around like Death would strike him down for his rudeness.

"Man, I hate dealing with goblins," Harry moaned as he sat at the far side of the table. Everyone sat with him, except Agent Mumford, who leaned against the wall. He didn't have to go to Gringotts very often, so his dealings with the goblins were few and far between.

"They're not so bad," Neville said. He never had a problem with the grouchy beings. He just did his business and left. Harry on the other hand always had to do something with his account. Plus, the goblins had to keep reminding him of his heritage.

A goblin, they assumed was Spearhead, entered the room. "I am Head Accountant Spearhead. Mr. Roberts will be joining us shortly," he said as he sat across from the group. "What can Gringotts do for you today?" he repeated the standard question, placing his briefcase on the floor next to his chair.

Harry introduced his party and then stated, "From what I understand, because I am in this tournament, then Britain has declared me an adult, but because of the curse we need to go over the Gryffindor and the Peverell accounts before I can claim emancipation. However, I'd like to see the Potter accounts first." Harry waved his hands like it was a minor annoyance.

"We will have to wait for Mr. Roberts to arrive. He is the one with the paperwork," the goblin practically growled, upset that this boy was disregarding such major accounts as if they were nothing. The goblins had been trying for decades to get the Potters to claim them.

Gilly was at Harry's right and she put a hand on his arm to prevent him from snapping at the accountant. She looked at the goblin and said, "Look, I know you guys are frustrated, Goldsworthy is just as bad, but you can't blame Harry for the curse." She glared at the disrespectful way he spoke to Harry.

"I apologize, I was hoping it would be easier since he is still young," Spearhead said as he nodded at her and folded his hands in front of him. "Mr. Potter, these are not trivial accounts. The gold in them will make you wealthy beyond your dreams. The books and artifacts are plentiful. The history alone makes them worthwhile."

"Yeah, sorry about that," the young man said, removing his hat and rubbing the back of his neck. "Every time I think about them, they just kinda slide through my mind and I disregard them as unimportant," Harry explained with a shrug of his shoulder.

The goblin waved his apology away, pulled up his briefcase and removed some paperwork. "Here are the summaries of all three of your accounts. Thanks to the thoughtfulness of your aunts, your trust account has grown," he said, putting the parchments in front of Harry.

"Wow, you guys still use parchment. Isn't that expensive?" Neville asked, picking up one of the papers and looking at the sum. His eyes got wide and he stated, "Whoa, he wasn't kidding. That's some balance you've got there, Harry."

"The account you are looking at is merely the Potter account. The main vault was frozen when his parents passed away," Spearhead said, then pointed to another parchment. "That is the sum of all the accounts. As to your question, the British Wizard Ministry will not allow us to use paper for our clients. They feel it is beneath them." His face took on a grimace. They had tried for years to get the British to use paper, but for some reason they only wanted to use parchment. It would save hundreds of Galleons a year if they could get them to change over and only use the thick paper for contracts.

"I thought goblins were a separate nation," Neville stated with a tilt of his head.

"We are, but if we want to keep the peace, we… adapt," the goblin grumbled. He hated dealing with the government.

"Another plus for the good ole US of A," Harry added, still looking at the summaries. He knew he was rich, but not this rich. These accounts added up to the billions, he could do so much with them.

"What I don't understand is why Harry can't claim the other accounts after he claims his family accounts?" Gilly asked. That had always bothered her.

"It is not that they cannot, it is that they will not. Once the Potter accounts are claimed, they flat-out refuse to believe there are any others. It is part of the curse," Spearhead explained.

"Oh, okay, well that is problematic," she conceded.

A knock was heard on the door and an older man entered the room. He was a balding man, dressed in a grey business suit with an open black robe. He took a seat next to Spearhead and pulled out some paperwork. "Hello, everyone," he greeted. "I am Mr. Roberts. I have been the Potter family solicitor for many years."

Harry, remembering his manners, introduced the people on his side of the table.

The solicitor nodded his head to each individual and then looked at Harry. "Let's see about breaking this curse." There was a hopeful look in his eyes.

At the mention of the curse Harry got dismissive again. He waved his hand and said, "I'd like to claim the Potter accounts."

"Harry, do you trust me?" Gilly asked as gained his attention by placing a hand on his arm.

"Of course I trust you, why would you even ask that?" Harry answered, bewildered. His aunt never lied to him, she had told him everything about his past the minute he was old enough.

"Then I need for you to do what Mr. Roberts tells you to do," she said firmly, giving his arm a squeeze and looking deep into his eyes. Her voice echoed in his mind.

"Okay, Aunt Gilly," he conceded, then turned his attention to the lawyer. "What do you need me to do?"

The solicitor took out a sheet of parchment and covered it up with a blank sheet. "I need you to sign on the line at the bottom. Don't read it, just sign," he said when Harry went to remove the blank parchment.

"But, Goldsworthy said never sign anything without reading it," the teen said, still trying to read the paper.

"Yes, and normally that would be true, however, you are going to have to trust us that this is in your best interest," Mr. Roberts said, keeping a firm hand sheet of paper.

"Hey, Harry, how about I read it and let you know if it is okay to sign?" Neville asked, putting his hands on the paperwork. Gilly and Sirius smiled and nodded their agreement.

"Okay," Harry said in complete confidence of his brother. He quit trying to read the contract and sat back in his chair.

Neville snatched up the papers and went to the other side of the table so Harry couldn't read over his shoulder. He quickly read the contract and noted it was for the Gryffindor account. By signing this paperwork, Harry would be agreeing that he was an adult and that he would be taking full control over the accounts. Had it not been for the tournament, Harry would have had to wait until he was seventeen. When he was done reading, he covered it back up and slid it to his cousin. "There's nothing in this that will hurt you or your accounts. Just sign on the line and you will be able to get to the Potter account," he said slyly, keeping his hand on the blank paper.

Harry raised his eyebrows and nodded. He signed on the line at the bottom of the page. The parchment glowed red for a moment and then flashed white. Everyone sighed in relief. Spearhead took the papers and made copies for Harry, Gringotts, Mr. Roberts and the Ministry.

Harry shook his head as the family curse was broken. There was no big lightshow, or a huge snap in his magic, it was just gone. He gave a huge smile at those on in the room, and he was glad he had his other family to help him. Had they been Potters this would have never worked. Not that he wouldn't trust his birth family, it was only they would have not budged on claiming the Potter account first. Well his mom might have, but he would never know.

"Thanks, everyone, it is good to know that the Owens family can break any curse," he said, radiating his joy. "Do you even know who cursed the Potters?" the teen, now adult, asked Spearhead.

"No, we only know it happened around the same time the Statute of Secrecy went into effect." The goblin shook his head. "The Potters were well known for chasing down Dark Wizards, so it could have been a number of families. Now that that is over, let's claim your other accounts," Spearhead said as he and Mr. Roberts pulled out a lot more parchment.

Everyone groaned and got to work on what looked to be a lot of signing. Harry folded his arms and his face morphed into a righteous pout.

They were correct it took an hour to get every i dotted and every t crossed. Then they took the carts to the oldest vault. Harry and his family were shocked about how they had to go into the bowels of the bank. The Gringotts in America was above ground and the vaults in magically expanded parts of the building, so this cart ride was new to them. That and they didn't have to visit the vaults often, since they had direct deposit.

Harry, Neville and Sirius whooped and cheered as they went down the tunnels. Gilly smiled and joined them, making the cart goblin jeer at their childishness. They finally stopped at close to the bottom of the tracks. They all got out and heard a loud roar. They looked to the tiny being accompanying them and Harry lifted an eyebrow. "What was that?" he asked, trying to see down the dark tunnel.

"This vault is guarded by a dragon," the cart goblin explained as he went to a box off to the side. Inside the wooden box was what appeared to be clappers. "The dragon is trained to fear this noise, so each of you grab one and start twisting it."

Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust, to make a dragon fear a noise took a lot of pain and he and his family were against causing animals to suffer. Well, they were now, before the Owens witches used animal sacrifice, they didn't like it, but they didn't know there were other ways. Now, they were all against animal abuse, of any kind. They had even updated the Book with footnotes on better ways to do the spells within, so that future generations of the Owens family, for they were sure there would be males now, would know that times had changed. To prove the point that there would now be Owens males, Sally was pregnant with a boy.

The streaked-haired boy also thought that it was also stupid to keep the devices right where anyone could grab them. What if they were robbed, the tools needed were right in sight.

The young teen heard a hissing noise as the dragon backing away in fear. She was hissing for them not to hurt her, while roaring her defiance. Harry stopped in shock, he had never been around a dragon before and had no idea they could speak. His Aunt Gilly looked all over America, but keeping dragons was considered unlawful and cruel. They had tried to get to the dragon reserves in Romania, but were denied permits.

"Please, stop," the dragon begged. It was a pitiful looking dragon. Its skin was flabby from lack of food and its color was off from the absence of sun. It looked a pale green instead of the emerald green it should have been. Its eyes had a foggy look about them, and Harry didn't know if it was blind or just losing its sight. It was a young dragon, judging by its size.

The teen was so angry at the sight that he snarled at the goblin, who backed away from the enraged wizard and stopped twirling the clapper.

Harry calmly hissed to the poor dragon, "Peace, young dragon. We will not hurt you. I am so sorry that you are being treated so poorly. If I could I would set you free. Alas, it is not in my power to do so. I won't hurt you, please, let me show you." He shocked their guide by going up to the beast and rubbing the nearest leg in sympathy. He ignored his family's calls to come back, he sent them a reassuring grin and continued to pet the shocked dragon. He knew the only reason he could approach was because it was in a dazed state.

"You speak," the dragon said with a great deal of surprise, relishing the touch. "I accept your apology, for you are not of the cruel people that cause my plight." She glared and roared at the goblin, who almost dropped his clapper in fear. He was about to start using it when Gilly grabbed in hand and shook her head.

"I will do all I can to see that every dragon in Gringotts is freed," Harry promised furiously, spearing a look at the cart goblin, who name he didn't even bother to ask. "I don't know when or even if it would be in your lifetime, but I promise to do all I can." He petted her leg once more and made his way back to his aunt.

"For that I will let your party pass unmolested." The dragon bowed and scooted back as far from the group as she could in the small cavern she was trapped in.

"You're just full of surprises, kiddo," Gilly said as she grabbed his hand. She had been worried when he went to the dragon and was majorly relieved when her nephew didn't die. Going up to a scared animal was dangerous; she was very surprised that the dragon didn't bite his head off.

"She said she's not going to hurt us," Harry said, his glare not lessening one bit. He squeezed his aunt's hand and then let it drop. He turned and stalked to the massive doors and slammed his hand on the right side where an indent was seen. There was a small prick on his palm and then one half of the double doors opened. A gust of brown dust billowed out of the vault. "You will stay here," he spat at the goblin, not caring if he was rude or not.

The goblin looked affronted and was about to protest when a chill ran up his spine. The temperature in the cave dropped and the terrified goblin looked around to see what was causing it. Harry's hair was billowing around his hat, in a non-existent wind. Gilly quickly took her nephew in a hug to calm him down. She cut a glare to the goblin and restated Harry's order.

As the wind died, the goblin clung to his clapper like it was a weapon and nodded his head. He scurried to a place out of reach of the dragon and slouched down the wall to wait. Agent Mumford took up guard outside the doors and let the family examine the vault. It was a private thing.

The inside of the vault was old smelling and dust covered everything in inches. Everyone waved their hands around to wandlessly clean the area around them. It took several minutes to get the place clean enough to walk without kicking up clouds of grime. After much coughing and sneezing the group looked around. There were books aplenty and mountains of gold, silver and copper coins. There were a vast amount of trunks filled with jewels. There was some armor and weapons off to the side and a pedestal in the middle. On the pedestal was a very old looking book.

Harry went to it and read the title; Godric Gryffindor was written in pealing gold leaf. "Looks like ole Godric kept a journal. Do you think I should take it?" he asked, leafing through the first few pages.

"Yeah, I think you should, no, wait, copy it. You don't know if the preservation spell will last outside the vault. It's an old trick," Sirius suggested in wonder. The great Godric Gryffindor's word would be a gold mine.

"Okay," the teen said and waved his hand and copied the diary and then shrank the copy and put it in his pocket.

"As great as the history is for this vault, I'm not seeing anything that will help you right now. Well, maybe that book, but little else," Gilly said from her place at the rusting armor, the weapons weren't in much better condition. She turned away from the displays and went to the boy's side. Neville, who had been looking around in wonder, joined them.

"Yeah, you're right, I guess we should see if the Peverell vault has anything," Harry shrugged and looked around once more and then led his group out the door. He placed his hand on the open door and it swung shut to his touch.

Claire and the goblin quickly returned to their side and once again the tiny being started to twist his clapper.

"Stop that, you fool, she's not going to hurt us," Harry snapped and grabbed the clapper from the goblins startled hands.

The goblin cowered as the temperature dropped again and started hesitantly towards the cart. The rest followed with sad looks at the dragon. This time there was no cheering for the ride as Harry went over in his mind about what he would do for the dragons. Many, many plans were circling there.

Once again Harry had to reassure the dragon guarding the next vault. This one took longer to calm down, but Harry persevered and soon enough they made their way to the vault.

The Peverell vault opened the same way as the Gryffindor vault did; there was another cloud of dust, but not quite as bad. There were less books in this vault, the coins weren't piled quite a high, though they were still plentiful. Another pedestal was in the middle and Harry went to check out the book on it. This time it was a kid's book, the title read; The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

"Huh, that's a weird book to be placed on a pedestal," Harry mused. He'd heard about the book and vaguely recalled it being read to him when he was a kid, but for the life of him he had no idea why it would be mounted in reverence.

Sirius joined him and shrugged. "Maybe there's a secret in the stories," he suggested, trying to think about a forgotten memory. The Peverell's were somehow connected to one of the stories, but it had been so long since he read the book that he couldn't remember which one. "We can get the book at Flourish and Blott's, so don't worry about copying it," he offered, now anxious to read it again and figure out the clue this was.

"Yeah, but stories change over time, there might be more in this one than a new addition, so I think I'll make a copy and get the new one and compare the two," Harry said as he did just that.

"You're right, that would be a good idea," Sirius stated with a proud smile.

Harry nodded his head and looked around for anything that would help him in the tournament. There were weapons and some wands along the backside of the vault. They looked to be in better condition than the ones in the older vault. He took up a few of the wands to test them and found two that worked for him. Not that he needed a wand for most things, but wizard curses worked better with a focus. So he put the two that worked in his robes and indicated for everyone, except Gilly to do the same. Gilly and the aunts never used a wand, so she just wandered around the vault looking at the titles to the books.

"I think we're done here, Aunt Gilly, let's go to the Potter vault and get out of this place," Harry said as he came to her side. London Gringotts had not impressed him at all. These vaults were in horrible condition. He had to wonder what all the fuss was about, not that he minded having all the riches, but the commotion the goblins kicked up, well he expected more.

"You might like some of the things in there," Sirius said as they exited. "I know your dad put some really neat stuff in there before he went into hiding." An excited look came across his face as he remembered coming here with his best friend.

"Yeah, having stuff from my dad will be cool," Harry said, getting just as excited. He all but ran to the cart and waited impatiently for everyone else to hurry along.

They arrived at the vault; this one only had a single door that was made to be opened with a key as well as a magical signature. When the goblin tried to take Harry's key, the young man growled at him until he asked politely. After the goblin opened the door and stepped aside, the family entered the newer vault.

This vault was much cleaner than the others, the books were newer and the gold was just as high as the Peverell vault, though less than the Gryffindor one. In here there was no pedestal. There were far more trunks in here than there had been in the others, most looked to be filled with furniture and clothes.

Harry went to the least battered trunk and looked inside. There was an assortment of clothes and books, like a school trunk. On the top was a letter addressed to him. He picked it up and motioned for everyone to join him in reading it.

Harry

If you are reading this then the Longbottoms or Sirius has brought you here to get ready for Hogwarts. Inside this trunk are all my books and supplies, as well as a few hidden surprises. It also means that your mum and I didn't make it. I won't go into how sorry we are that we didn't raise you. I will just express that I hope we died well and that you had a good childhood with the Longbottoms, or Merlin forbid, Sirius. The only reason I say that is, because if Sirius is raising you then the Longbottoms didn't make it.

I want you to show this letter to whoever is raising you, so that they know there is a curse on the family. I can only write about it because our Account Manager is dictating this paragraph to me as I write. According to him I will forget it as soon as what the curse pertains is mentioned. So I can't tell you what to look out for. Get your guardian to speak to the current goblin in charge of the account, and hopefully you can break the curse.

Inside the trunk are diaries me and you mum kept when we were in school, so you know how to navigate Hogwarts. They will also tell you how we met and who our friends were. These are not the hidden surprises I mentioned earlier.

Remember, we will always be watching and that we will be proud of you no matter what House you are sorted in. Lily says to tell you that she was almost sorted into Ravenclaw and that she hopes you gain her smarts and not my sense of humour. I hope you get both. Give the Longbottoms, or your Uncle Sirius and Remus our goodbyes and be glad they are in your life.

Goodbye for now, son.

Do us proud,

Love Mum and Dad

Sirius sniffled a bit after reading the letter. "I think he was hoping to write a longer one, this was written just after they went in to hiding."

"Well, now you will know more about their school life," Neville suggested, putting a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah," Harry said, and then cleared his throat. He waved his hand, shrunk the trunk and placed it in his pocket. "Let's get out of here," he said, making his way to the entrance, after grabbing up some coins for a bit of shopping. They couldn't do much since he had to get back to the boat for his detention, but he wanted to see if the brooms were any better than the ones in the US.

The rest followed a little concerned that he was taking it so well. Little did they know, he wasn't, no, his mind was in turmoil. Harry was thinking about how his life would have turned out had he not had the Owens women in it. While he was sad that his parents had died, he couldn't help but think his aunts had raised him well. These contradictory emotions kept him preoccupied until they reached the lobby of the bank.

"I think, I want that ice cream now," Harry said his conflicted eyes now focusing on what he was doing. So, they went down Diagon Alley to the ice cream parlor. He had a triple chocolate sundae, with whipped cream and sprinkles. Neville decided to be daring and got a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans' cup. Sirius and Gilly played it safe and had vanilla cones with chocolate sauce. Agent Mumford declined any treats and stationed herself by the door. The quartet took a table near the doors, so they could escape if Harry was discovered.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Gilly asked concerned, she saw her nephew was deep in thought and his mind was troubled.

"Yeah, it was kinda intense. I mean, I love you guys, but I can't help thinking what my life would have been like if I was raised by my parents," Harry confessed shyly. He took off his hat and rubbed his hand through his streaked hair.

"Oh, sweetie," Gilly said as she scooted her chair closer to the distraught boy and gave him a huge hug. "That is completely understandable; I know sometimes I wondered the same thing. You have to remember we lost our parents when I was young, and, like you, Sally and I were raised by the Aunts. When I got older," she ran a comforting hand through his hair, "I decided I wouldn't change it for the world. Some things are just meant to be."

Harry heaved a great sigh, tilted his head and smiled at his loving aunt. "I feel the same way, I just feel guilty about it at the same time," he said softly. He hugged the woman who raised him to be the best he could be.

Neville, who was sitting on Harry's right, patted his brother on the back and confessed, "I remember thinking the same after I read my mom's diary."

"Well, I for one, hated my parents and I'm proud of the Potters for taking me in," Sirius said with a grin, trying to break the melancholy that was filtering around the group.

Everyone gave him a wan smile for his efforts. Harry shook his head to get out of the morose thoughts and nudged everyone off of him and turned back to his wonderful sundae. "Too bad Jordan had to finish his homework. I have to admit, this is the best ice cream I've ever had," he said, taking a large bite of the delicious chocolate.

"I'm not so sure," said Neville after he bit into one of the beans in his cup. "I think I just swallowed dirt." He made a gagging face and then smiled to show he was kidding.

Sirius barked with laughter and stole a spoonful of Neville's treat. "Hmmm, I think that was broccoli," he said, wrinkling his nose.

They sat and enjoyed the rest of their confections and soon left the parlor. Harry made sure to don his hat as they stepped out of the building. They were still garnering looks for their Muggle clothes, but they didn't care what these people thought of them.

"Well, we only have about an hour, so you have to decide which stores you're going to visit. I would say you can pick two," Gilly said, after glancing at her watch.

"Why don't we split up? Me, Sirius and Agent Mumford can go to the book store and get that fairytale book. Neville can see if there are any brooms here that are better than the ones back home," Harry suggested, looking around the cluttered Alley. "I know we don't have time today, but I want to come back one day and look at the pets."

"We'll do that one of these weekends," Gilly offered.

"Good idea, splitting up, we don't want you late for detention," Sirius said as he gave Harry a pat on the top of his hat. He gave Gilly a kiss on the cheek and they went their separate ways.

Flourish and Blott's was a large books store, it had two stories of bookshelves that lined the walls and were in rows in the middle. It was dark and crowded, there seemed to be little organization. There were no markers indicating what books were in what rows. Harry glared at the shelf that was covered in the fictional stories about his life; they were label as non-fiction and included with the history books.

"I thought these were supposed to be in the fiction section," Harry said, as he started disdainfully at the offending books. "Look they're right next to 'The Rise and Fall of Dark Lords: A History'."

"Well, we'll just have to get Finley and the goblins on that, but don't get your hopes up," Sirius said, also looking at the books in contempt.

"Whatever, I hate this country," Harry said, adjusting his hat to make sure he wasn't recognized. He put the book back and went to look for The Tales of Beedle the Bard. He wanted to figure out why the book was so important to the Peverells and if there were any differences. They found a copy and gathered a few more books on British Magical Law and took them to the front to pay. Just as they were leaving they were accosted by a man with long white hair, dressed in expensive wizarding robes and carrying a cane, with a serpent's head.

"Sirius Black," the man sneered, wrinkling his nose like he smelled something foul, "Pity I ran into you today, I was having such a wonderful time in the Alley, now here you are."

"Lucius, old boy," Sirius flashed a beaming smile as if he was greeting an old family member. "How are you, dear cousin? Missing all the gold from the Black accounts, are you?" he inquired politely.

"Like your pitiful accounts could compare to my fortune," the now named Lucius sniffed, turning up his nose.

"Come now, Lucy, don't be modest. You know as well as I that my accounts are larger than yours. I would think after all the… donations you've been handing out, that they are much more prevalent now," Sirius laughed at the uppity man, knowing well and good that the Blacks far outweighed the Malfoys in wealth. He also knew the jaded history of the Malfoy family and knew they weren't as pure as they claimed.

"I will have you know, my wife and I donate to good causes," Lucius snarled back. He then turned his gaze to Harry and the female beside him, and his face grimaced. "I always knew you were pitiful, Black, but now you have taken to hanging out with… Muggles." His lip curled and he all but snarled at the two.

This time Sirius' laughter filled the store, causing people to turn and see what was going on. A crowd started gathering around the four facing off. Harry tugged his hat down more to make sure his scar was covered and then hit his godfather upside the head, nodding to the people around them. Agent Mumford scooted closer and put her hand in her jacket to grip her gun.

"You just keep on thinking that, dear cousin. We'll just be going now, more important things to be doing, you know," Sirius said, the smile never leaving his face.

"Come now, Black, introduce me to your… friends," the white-haired man said as he placed himself in front of the three trying to leave.

"His… friend doesn't want to lower himself to be introduced to one such as you," the streak-haired teen said with a bright smile. He knew he was being rude, but this man rubbed him the wrong way.

"Watch yourself, boy. You would do well to know who your betters are," Lucius snarled. The crowd gathered closer now that it looked like there might be a fight. Their female escort stayed close to Harry's side.

"My betters?" Harry asked incredulously, gawking at the man. "You don't even know who I am, yet you claim to be my superior. Well, that's quite an opinion you have of yourself. Do you feel you are better than everyone you meet? Or are we just an exception?" he inquired with an innocent tilt of his head, hoping the man answered in the positive. Agent Mumford didn't once let go of her gun, still hidden in the folds of her jacket.

"I can tell by your accent that you are an American, therefore beneath me. Besides, the Malfoy family is above everyone in Britain and parts of France," Lucius sniffed importantly as he adjusted his cuffs.

The crowd seemed to take exception to this and started to yell at the pure-blood, jostling and pushing the man outside the store. Harry and his companions escaped in the commotion, laughing the entire time. They met up with Gilly and Neville and made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. As they walked they told the two what happened and they all shared a good laugh.

"So, that's a pure-blood? Now I know what to expect," Harry said with a shake of his head.

"Well, to tell the truth, Lucius is a little full of himself, so he's not really a good comparison. However, that's what you can expect from Death Eaters, more or less," Sirius said in all seriousness. He chuckled a little about the whole situation. He always loved putting Lucius in his place.

"Okay," Harry said with a shrug. He wasn't impressed.

"Don't underestimate them, kiddo," Gilly said, not wanting him to be caught off guard.

"I'll try not to, but it's kinda hard. I mean, they really are arrogant," the green-eyed boy said as they walked into the Cauldron.

"Yeah, but they also have a large kill count. Remember that," Agent Mumford warned. She wasn't fooled into thinking they were not a threat. She had read the reports on all the Death Eaters and was on guard around them. The only comfort she had was they didn't know what a gun was, so they had no shield against one.

"Alright," Harry conceded. It was rare that Claire gave out advice, so he would heed it.

"Come on, let's go to the boat," Gilly said as they left the Alley.