A Whole New LifeMad by WritingBibliomaniac ( Harry Potter )

Summary:

After Harry and Hermione died at Malfoy Manor, Harry meets his reaper in the afterlife. To his surprise, this isn't remotely the first time he had died, but to finally fulfil his destiny this time he will be sent back with his memories and some additional preparation thanks to some long dead people like the founders and a few of his ancestors. This time Dumbledore's manipulations and the Weasleys' love potioning won't happen, rest assured.

Back at Ollivanders with Hagrid, Harry starts changing things rapidly, especially since he ran into his soulmate - Hermione. Upon a first touch she starts to remember everything. Minerva McGonagall and the Grangers rescue Harry from the Dursleys and as Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, with advanced magical skill, knowledge of Dumbledore's and Voldemort's plans and his soulmate on his side a whole new life can begin.

My personal interpretation of the Grim Reaper challenge.

Notes:

Hello reader,

I'm glad you found this work and hope you enjoy it. As this is my first published work and I'm working on some original work too, I hope I can update regularly, a few chapters are already done.

On a sidenote, English isn't my first language, so I apologise for any grammar and vocabulary mistakes.

At some point you might recognise some paragraphs because they are inspired or taken from the Harry Potter books, like the Sorting Hat's song. Those are obviously not mine but cited from JKR's books

And last but not least, I obviously don't own Harry Potter and any affiliated characters, this is merely a fanfiction

Big news: my first novel is now available as a print-on-demand book!! It's a crazy fantasy adventure that got everything from magic to dragons and ancient mysteries. Maybe some of you would like to check it out and support me? (Even though it's in German...)

It's called "Wandler - Das Erwachen" (ISBN 9783757823672) and as a print-on-demand the book will be printed whenever someone orders it, making it take a little longer than with other books, but it's wonderful for new authors without a publisher's support.

For updates on my novel and fanfics:

X/Twitter

Chapter 1: Afterlife and RebirthNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Based on the "Don't fear the grim reaper" - challenge

"STORYLINE:

*) Harry is killed at 17 during the fight with Voldemort. at Malfoy Manor (out of plot reasons). He's sent to his Death's office (explained later) and finds out that this isn't the first time that this has happened.

*) Harry's Death (who can have a human name) is mad at his arrival. Apparently, people dying before their time is a black mark on the various Deaths' records, and Harry is getting perilously close to getting this particular one fired.

*) When Harry asks what was supposed to have happened, Death goes off on a rant saying how he was supposed to have killed Voldemort, found his soulmate ("Some Granger girl…") and lived to be a centennial age. But since Harry keeps getting into life-threatening situations for one reason or another, he keeps dying before that happens. Harry is surprised about the soul mate part.

*) Death gives Harry a paper to sign that allows him to retain his memories (the previous times, he wasn't given this option for some reason). Harry is deposited to a previous time of the writer's choosing.

*) Eventually, Harry gets it right. He kills Voldemort, gets the girl, and lives to a ripe old age of whatever. And Death doesn't get fired.

REQUIREMENTS:

*) Harry must have died at least three times before this one

*) The memory keeping contract must be included

*) Death must refer to Hermione as "some Granger girl" when Harry's soul mate turns up in his rant

*) Obviously, must be H/Hr

*) Have fun

OPTIONAL:

*) Dumbledore's manipulations can be a factor in Harry's premature demises"

Chapter 1

Harry had no clue what just happened. Barely a second ago he was at Malfoy Manor, attacking Bellatrix with Wormtail's wand, it all went green and then here he was. The boy-who-lived was nearly certain that Bella's Avada hit him, when he threw a Sectumsempra in her direction. As his eyes started to adapt to the bright light he shook his head: he should have gone for an unforgivable, just to avenge Hermione. Though he was not absolutely certain of her death, from the looks of it she either passed out or died from Bella's Cruciatus-torture. Tears started to run down the young wizard's cheek, but he was rather rudely interrupted by an upset sounding male voice.

"Potter, Harry James. Once again. You have no intention of fulfilling your destiny, don't you? That is what, the ninth time you didn't manage to keep yourself alive. Not good for my track record, I'll probably get fired because of you."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You are dead, Mr. Potter. Welcome to the afterlife, I'm your personal reaper, John. Each and every time I have to tell you the same thing: you were not supposed to die yet, but still you manage to do it. This time was the second furthest you've gotten yet, one life earlier Voldemort killed you in the forbidden forest and I was so hoping that this time you'd manage to stay alive. Not even Merlin was so exhausting, from what I've heard."

"Wait a second, I'm dead, and not for the first time? How's that?"

The reaper, John, dressed in a wide dark grey coat, shook his head in disbelief, because the young wizard, who was supposed to save the world, was apparently not the fastest one when it came to understanding. Slowly he repeated what he just said, until Harry finally got it.

"So, and what now? Do I get another try to kill the dark bastard and what will be waiting for me afterwards?"

The reaper nodded and opened the file in front of him, to give Harry a small impression of what happened and what was to come if he succeeded.

"Harry James Potter, the boy-who-lived. Lord of, well, a variety of noble and most ancient houses, not only Potter and Peverell, Member of the Wizengamot, defeater of Voldemort, married to his soulmate, give me a second... ah, yes, some Granger girl and lived to the respectable age of somewhat over two hundred years. Enough or shall I continue?"

Harry was, to put it mildly, stunned. He should have had a long and successful life, happily married to...Hermione. As soon as he realised that, he looked up to his reaper.

"Married to my soulmate Hermione? What about Ginny?"

The reaper looked at him in disbelief: "Ginevra Molly Weasley? That girl caused most of your early demises, at least kind of. Mainly it was the fault of the old madman Dumbledore, who can't stop manipulating, even if destiny has other plans. You remember when Molly told Ginny about brewing love potion in her younger years? Well, that's how she originally got Arthur's attention and both Ginevra and Ronald used the same method to get both you and Hermione. Otherwise there would not have been a chance to keep you two apart. Molly really liked your money and name and Ginny desperately wanted her hero from the tales her mother told her. An unhealthy obsession if I might add. Now, how are we gonna do this? I'm up for revision soon so I do want you to succeed so I might give you a little head start."

Harry was not able to understand what the reaper just said. Well, he understood but didn't comprehend it. Ginny dosed him with potion and so did Ron with Mione. Does that make sense? Now, as he was dead and looked back, it might actually make sense and explain a lot. Still, somehow he couldn't believe the Weasley's would do something like that. And what was that about Dumbledore?

"How was Professor Dumbledore guilty of me dying before my time?" Harry's reaper shook his head, as he was asked that. "Who on heaven and earth leaves an infant on a doorstep at night, when your aunt didn't expect you to be brought to her? The basilik, the dragon at the tournament, you, crashing with your broom because of the dementors, your death on the astronomy tower instead of his, Quirrell, your stupid rescuing attempt in the ministry, Voldemort in the forbidden forest and now that madwoman Lestrange. At least you don't die the same way twice, but you can see how many of those are directly or indirectly the old man's fault. Each and every one of them."

Now Harry was stunned, every time he got away with his life so close, he actually died in a previous or later attempt. He only wondered that he never messed up the graveyard, but then he realised that out of his nine attempts he only got there four times. Slowly he started to get the bigger picture while realising that he might actually be in love with his best friend. No, not Ron, but Hermione. It all somehow made sense to him now.

"So, what's your plan?"

After laying out a very different beginning of his time at Hogwarts, including leaving the Dursleys earlier and meeting up with his soulmate, who should regain her memories as well, they would attempt to save several lives this time. The question, why he didn't regain his memories on an earlier try, John explained with the fact that this was highly irregular and an extraordinary measure that was only justified by the number of deaths he already had.

"Now, two more things. We'll have a brief chat with your parents and some other important individuals to give you a better chance and before that we have to get rid of the Horcrux in your scar so you'll finally be able to really use your powers. That damn thing has been blocking major parts of your magical core and mental abilities, not to forget the Occlumency. Theoretically you should be damn good with that, kind of your heritage."

Once again, Harry was stunned, not only because of the fact that he'd be meeting his parents soon, but rather because of the Horcrux. After some explanation of why and how he realised that it was practically obvious and explained both Parseltongue and his visions of the dark bastard. John explained that he might feel a bit overwhelmed once he was back, his body would have to adapt to his new powers. As Harry asked if he'd lose his Parseltongue, John shook his head, because the old fool was wrong, it was not a side-effect from the Horcrux but rather a family trait. Harry would have to go to Gringotts to verify that and take upon the heritage of those houses if possible, but he had the blood of not only Slytherin but all the founders. Even though Marvolo Gaunt thought the Peverell and Slytherin line had intertwined in the past, that was wrong. The three brothers were direct descendants of Salazar and Harry was the one true heir of Ignotus Peverell. From the Potter side as well came the blood of Gryffindor, while the Evans were descendants of Rowena's daughter, which would make the grey lady his ancestor and his mother anything but a muggleborn. Maybe he'd get into the "Sacred twenty-eight" (then twenty-nine) eventually, Harry thought, laughing. Henry Potter should have been more stubborn, though neither Harry nor his ancestor were pure-blood extremists. It would strengthen his position in the Wizengamot though. Anyway, the Hufflepuff blood floating through his veins was not so much, but the Evans picked it up when a Smith woman married into the family several hundred years ago, who was distantly related to the late Hepzibah Smith.

Harry really was surprised by all the revelations he got, but that didn't really matter to him when John took him into another room, where he saw the ghosts of nine different people. Some he recognized, others he didn't. Ignoring anything, he sprinted towards his parents and hugged them in a manner that would make Hermione proud. By then he realised that they were anything but ghosts, he could touch them, feel them and tears started running down his cheeks as he held them for several minutes. Most of the people present had some tears running down their cheeks, but the one showing nearly no affection coughed respectfully in a nearly Umbridge-like manner, but no that disrespectful. It was no other than the great Salazar Slytherin, who wanted to go on with what they intended on doing to prepare the boy. The other founders nodded and James released his son, though Lily stayed in the hug for another minute. After that, John introduced the four founders and thanked them for taking their time, as well as the old wizard in green robes, the one and only Merlin, the most famous wizard of all times. The other two were Henry Potter, Harry's great-grandfather and Ariana Dumbledore, Albus' sister.

They conspired for something that felt like days, which is completely irrelevant as time was not playing a factor here, in the afterlife. Now, after they were done, Harry had plans to free Sirius, escape from the Dursleys, get in possession of his Lordship and inheritance, including the Potter Manor, about which Henry explained a lot, to counter Dumbledore's manipulations and get friendly with Snape. Merlin and the founders gave him some helpful advice for dealing with the castle and some ancient knowledge or at least the means to acquire it. What they unfortunately couldn't tell him was where the Diadem and the Cup were located, so Harry would have to hunt those Horcruxes down by himself.

After some emotional goodbyes, Harry and his Reaper left and went back into the Office, where Harry first woke up. The two of them still had to work out the formalities and not everything was clear by now: "So, before I leave, could you please explain the whole soulmate thing to me in detail?" John nodded: "Basically you two are two parts of a whole, you share a soul. It is possible to exist independently, but not really a good idea. Some say the connection is mainly romantic, but it is way more than that. Your souls are not just simply bonded, that mainly occurs in siblings or best friends, like the Weasley twins or the Marauders, but with soulmates, nothing can keep them apart. You might share your minds or memories, you feel the others presence and much more, but that differs from pair to pair. As soon as you meet your mate when you're back, she will recognize you and retain some memories, it is not possible to predict how fast until she knows everything again."

The last and final act of Harry's reaper was to give him the necessary documents to sign, which was a lot apparently, since it was not only about getting another chance but about the removal of a Horcrux as well plus the retaining of the memories. After everything was done, John led the young man to a huge steel door and when he opened it, there was just light behind it, a bit like the veil in the ministry, he signalised Harry to walk into there and when the wizard felt a strong power pulling him away he could have sworn he heard the reaper say: "Don't you dare coming earlier than in over two centuries."

July 31 st 1991 – Ollivanders

Harry opened his eyes and after a fraction of a second he realised at which point in time he reappeared. They planned for this day, yes, but returning someone from the dead was not an exact science. The old wandmaker came back to Harry and Hagrid, carrying the box, which contained the wand Harry knew and loved. The twin-cores were not ideal, but he was familiar with that one and he knew where to find another for the long term use. He heard Ollivander speak about it, "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches," though Harry didn't really pay any attention because he tried to figure out how to make the plan work, when he already visited Gringotts. He needed to go there, together with Hagrid, because he had the key. After waving his wand and this time purposefully showing off, while realising how much more power he had available, Hagrid said something to the wandmaker that made him look up. It was different this time: "Could you be so friendly and send the bill to Harry's vault, we haven't been to the bank yet. The young man here wanted a wand first." Ollivander nodded, it was not that uncommon that customers did that, Galleons were heavy. After stating once more how "curious" the choice of wand was, Harry gladly left the shop.

Harry was quite certain that his favourite reaper was playing destiny because after they got Hedwig and most of the other things he needed, they ran into a group of four people he never expected to see so early. A change of plans was deemed necessary, Harry decided and on their way to Gringotts he carefully steered Hagrid into the direction where he could feel Hermione's presence, though he couldn't see her. The tall woman next to her and her parents on the other hand he couldn't miss, maybe she would be a good person to confide in just now. They had planned that for later though, so all his plans were falling apart, he would have to improvise a lot.

"Hagrid. Good to see you. What is your business in Diagon Alley today? Mr and Mrs Granger, Hermione, that man there is the keeper of grounds and keys of Hogwarts. I think I told you about him. Oh and that can't be..." As soon as Minerva McGonagall saw the young wizard she knew better to yell his name across the street. The group around the Head of House Gryffindor moved closer and she gladly shook Harry's hand. "Harry Potter. It is a pleasure to see you again, though you probably won't remember the last time we met. I was there when Albus... Professor Dumbledore brought you to your aunt and uncle. Why don't you two join us if you don't mind?" The last half was directed towards the Grangers, who were happy at the thought of Hermione getting friends with someone her age and... abilities. They still felt not very comfortable in the wizarding world and after a brief exchange of looks they asked McGonagall if she would be okay if they left the magical street and met up later, so the kids would be less disturbed. Hermione never really had any friends and the prospect of getting to know a classmate even before school wouldn't harm, rather the opposite. The professor thought that this would be a very good idea and asked Hagrid, if he didn't have to do something else for the headmaster and against all odds he understood the implication.

During the conversation of the adults, Harry moved closer to Hermione and offered her his hand, which she shook. She wanted to introduce herself to the black-haired boy in front of her but as soon as their hands touched, tens of thousands of memories returned into the witches' head and Harry, knowing her well, saw that she recognized him. After all these years and being on the run he could practically read her facial expressions, if not her mind.

"Mione? Do you know where we are?" She nodded and tried to understand: "I know where we aren't: Malfoy Manor with Ron. I only recall getting tortured by Lestrange. What did you do?"

So she remembered, at least huge parts. That was a good thing and soon they would go to Gringotts together with Minerva and the plans could get set into motion, at least some." Well, Wormtail, that rat, still owed me a life debt and I used his wand to blast my way out of the basement, you were laying on the ground and I threw a sectumsempra at Bella, but her Avada was faster. I died and my reaper let me return to fulfil my destiny. I came back just around half an hour ago." Hermione nodded again and tried to not freak out, but there was still a major question unanswered: "Why do I remember everything?"

Harry blushed at that and gave her a short summary. She would find out eventually. "You and me, we are supposed to be soulmates and apparently Molly, Ginny and Ron love-potioned us. At least that is what my file in the afterlife said."

Once again, Harry could see her mind working, thinking about what he just said and simultaneously blushing. Hermione was – obviously – familiar with soulmates, it was clear to her what that meant. The part with the Weasleys on the other hand was a horrific thought, though not completely absurd. The girl knew that, by the looks of it, Harry was telling the truth. This made it so much easier for her to accept everything he just said and to play along until they had the time to talk about all of that in detail, because now both her parents and Hagrid were leaving and McGonagall's attention was fully focused on them.

On the way to Gringotts, the professor asked Harry how life was with the Dursleys and this time he couldn't hold back, he needed her trust. "Honestly? I guess you saw them back then. It is pure torture there, I have to do all the chores, don't get enough food, slept in a cupboard for a decade and both my uncle and cousin didn't hesitate to hit me. How do you expect I am?"

Sure, Hermione knew basically everything Harry said, but he never stated it so directly and McGonagall was just stunned. She knew from her previous observations that they were not the best kind of people but that she hadn't expected.

"I told him, but does Albus ever listen to someone else? Damn..."

This brief moment of anger and horror disappeared as fast as it appeared before and then she directed her words to the young wizard: "Mr Potter, I truly apologise. I hope that you can forgive me but Professor Dumbledore said it was only for your best and who am I to doubt this man's word? I could have checked on you but I took comfort in his reassurances, and I will never forgive myself."

Hermione, standing next to Harry during McGonagall's apology, took the opportunity to hug her best friend and both had tears running down their cheeks, though they didn't know why. The professor's apology was truly moving and more emotional than anything they had ever heard from her. Harry took comfort in Hermione's touch and after they let go of each other, something so unexpected happened: McGonagall followed Hermione's example and hugged the young boy as well. None of the three could believe that this just happened, she wasn't the kind of person to show such empathy and love towards students, but with the young Mr Potter it was something different. She felt guilty and realised that probably no one except Miss Granger here had ever shown empathy towards the boy, at least in his memory. James and Lily were very lovely back then but he certainly didn't remember. As the witch let go of him, he said something that was way beyond his age: "You don't have to worry professor, I forgive you. I was never your fault, only Dumbledore can blame himself, but he won't. For him it was always about the "Greater Good"."

If Minerva wouldn't have been so rattled she might have taken notice of Harry's knowledge about the headmaster, but she didn't and so they made their way towards the bank. Harry couldn't tell Hermione what his plan was but he needed to find an explanation for McGonagall. He wasn't sure the truth would be good at this point in time, though she was certainly someone in whom they could confide.

After a short explanation of the bank's history by the professor and an exchange of muggle money into Galleons for Hermione, Harry stepped forward to greet Griphook, while McGonagall handed him the small golden key she got from Hagrid. "I will explain everything to you later, professor. Teller Griphook, may your vaults overflow and your enemies fall at your hand." The goblin looked surprised and replied to the young wizard: "May your gold never run out and your opponents flinch at your name. It's uncommon for a wizard your age – or for wizards in general – to know our traditions. What is it you desire, young man?"

"Harry James Potter, Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter wishes to see the Potter account manager for the reading of the wills of James Potter and Lily Potter, née Evans as well as for claiming my heritage and Lordship."

Each and everyone around him was stunned, Griphook included, but he nodded and left to make the necessary arrangements. As soon as he was gone, McGonagall started to speak: "Mr Potter, where did you learn all of this? I might have to floo Dumbledore so he can join us, since he is your legal guardian." Harry expressed that he disagreed with her statement: "He is most certainly not, Professor. As for how I know all of that, let's just say we've known each other for years. If you know a little bit of Legilimency I can show you bits and pieces."

Back in the afterlife they discussed that it would be wise to confide in someone powerful to help and do as they planned and Harry just went for the opportunity. What he didn't know was that he was not the only person allowed to return with their memories at one point of their life. He was also unaware that McGonagall had a brief, but very successful career at the DMLE (Department of Magical Law Enforcement). So Harry was quite surprised when she whispered, still in disbelief: "You retained your memories? How often and how old were you?" That threw Harry off-course. "I was seventeen and it was the ninth time. I take it you went through that as well?" Minerva nodded: "Before teaching I had a brief career at the DMLE and one mission failed horribly. My reaper sent me back a year and after I successfully finished that mission I left the ministry and went to Hogwarts. Would you really be willing to show me some of your memories?"

Until Griphook returned, Minerva took a short trip through Harry's time at Hogwarts, just the highlights to get an impression of the two and their skill set, since they had only a few minutes.

"So, what's your plan, Harry?" That he didn't want to tell, since both Snape and Dumbledore were rather fond of mind reading, as he had experienced. Harry just wanted to have her back: "Main point is that I won't go back to the Dursleys. With the Lordship I'll get emancipated and take over Potter Manor. After that I'll free Sirius and lay low until the fourth year, when we know both time and place Voldemort will be. That means I won't change a lot of things until then, just some." He didn't show any specifics about the Horcruxes, but she knew of their existence.

After all Minerva had seen, she was so upset with Albus. The Dursleys' torture, a god-damn basilik and all those times the boy and his friends fought against you-know-who. She vowed secrecy, but that didn't mean she couldn't prevent Albus' stupidity and Severus' bullying.

"Account manager Gornuk would see you now, Mr Potter. Do you want your companions to join you or stay here." Harry thanked the Goblin and asked the two women to follow him into the office of his family's account manager. After a formal exchange of greetings that left Gornuk as surprised as Griphook earlier, he asked Harry to take a seat and presented the wills from Harry's parents.

"It is my understanding that Albus Dumbledore has asked to inform us if someone wanted to access those. But since you are the heir you could deny that, if you wish." Harry definitely didn't want the headmaster to know about this so he denied: "Informing Dumbledore would be against my wishes and if any guardian supervision would be necessary, he isn't mine. Since Sirius Black is illegitimately held in Azkaban, Alice Longbottom is a permanent resident of St. Mungo's and Remus Lupin is not in the country and if he were it would be prohibited through the anti-werewolf legislation, none of my godparents or potential surrogates are available. It would surely follow my parents' wishes that Minerva McGonagall be my guardian rather than Albus Dumbledore." The last sentence stunned the elderly witch and she had to hide her tears, not only because of James' and Lily's death but at their trust in her.

The goblin accepted the young wizard's wishes, wondering how he knew so much about his godparents since the wills were sealed. Then he broke the seal and started to read.

Last will and testament of James Potter, Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter.

In the case of my demise before my wife Lily Potter, née Evans, she would inherit all of my and our private vaults as well as our estate in Godric's Hollow. As for the other vaults and estates in my possession, as they belong to the House of Potter, they will be going to my son and heir Harry James Potter. He will get a trust vault with G1000 annually and full control of all his other inheritance on the day of his emancipation and gain of the Lordship of House Potter. Until then this will all be under the control of his mother or in case of her death his godparents and by that legal guardians in the following order:

Sirius Orion Black, Alice Longbottom or Remus John Lupin.

If all of those were unavailable as godparents and guardians, our next choices would be Minerva McGonagall, Amelia Bones or Andromeda Tonks, whomever would claim the role as guardian first.

The godparents would get an annual deposit of G1000 into their vaults from Lily and my private vault for both Harry's care and their expenses.

Sirius Black will receive a number of personal items listed below with sentimental value to both him and me, as he won't be in the need of financial assets and would decline to accept them.

Remus Lupin will receive some items listed below as well, together with G25.000, even if he wants to decline them.

Gornuk stopped reading here, because the paragraph about Peter Pettigrew was crossed out, a backup spell in case of the Fidelius being broken and Peter's betrayal did that, as he was well aware. He continued.

If my wife has already passed, when this will is being read, all her inheritance will go to my son as well, who then has the possibility to take Lordship of House Potter and all other Houses he might be eligible to by blood if he has reached age eleven and has the permit of his legal guardian.

The only things my wife and I deny Harry's legal guardian in case of both our demises are that he lives with Lily's sister and her family, that the guardian accepts any betrothal agreements for Harry without his own agreement and the acceptance of ANY betrothal agreement before the age of fourteen, following Potter traditions so that the child can actively participate in the creation of such an agreement.

I also name Harry's guardian the only legitimate proxy for all of Harry's seats in the Wizengamot until emancipation.

James Potter, Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter

Witnesses: Lily Potter, née Evans; Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore; Sirius Orion Black

After finishing James' testament, Gornuk opened Lily's and after reading it quietly he handed it to Harry and stated correctly, that it was practically the same, but here obviously just about the bit of wealth she and her husband acquired. She left a bit of money for Petunia but that was about it.

"I wish to take Lordship and hereby emancipate myself, if the present guardian, Professor Minerva McGonagall accepts that request. If she doesn't disagree she should take custody of me until my coming of age, despite my magical emancipation. I am still a kid and need an adult guardian." Both the goblin and the young wizard looked to the professor, who knew how old Harry practically was. Still not really believing that Albus took matters into his own hands, despite his knowledge of the wills, she granted Harry's request and Gornuk grabbed a small box containing the ring of House Potter and handed it to Harry.

"By taking that ring you accept your heritage and title, with all its benefits and duties. Are you aware of that?"

Harry nodded and took the ring with the Potter coat of arms on it. Before he put it on he asked the goblin where they got it from. He claimed that it was ancient magic and that the ring was never returned after James' death but eventually it will return if the heir wants to take the title. Everyone thought the same thing: Dumbledore surely got his hands on the ring to prevent today's happenings.

As soon as he slipped the ring on his finger, its size adapted and was now no longer removable until his death or loss of title. The family magic flooded through his bloodstream and now he knew what Henry talked about. Ancient knowledge, the locations of his estates and their wards and many other things were now in his mind. Harry stood up, knowing what he had to do.

"I, Harry James Potter, Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter hereby proclaim myself the Lord of my House following ancient tradition and my predecessor's will."

Minerva got up, because she was the only witch of age present.

"I, Minerva McGonagall hereby witness Harry Potter taking his Lordship and back his claim. As stated in his parents' will, I hereby also claim custody of Lord Potter until his coming of age and accept the will's demands."

With these formalities having been done, Harry was now officially emancipated in the eyes of the ministry and magic should adapt to these changes instantly. The paperwork for McGonagall taking custody should be in the Department of Records by now as well.

"Thank you. Now I would like to add a few titles to that, so I'll have a stronger position in the Wizengamot. With the apparent death of Tom Riddle, the only living descendant of Cadmus Peverell, I should be able to claim the title of Lord Peverell as well, as heir of Ignotus Peverell, his younger brother. His only grandchild, Iolanthe Peverell, married Hardwin Potter. Through the same line I think I can claim Slytherin as well, with the Peverells being his descendants." Minerva looked surprised, she definitely wanted him to be one of her lions and not a snake. "Through the Potter-line I should be the only living heir of Godric Gryffindor and through the Evans-line the heir of Helena and Rowena Ravenclaw. Somewhere along the line there should be a Smith married into the Evans, descending from Helga Hufflepuff, though I think that is too distant to be claimed by me. Oh, and depending on the will of Arcturus Black I hope that at least Heir of House of Black is a possibility. Henry Potter's wife was Electra Black, Arcturus' eldest aunt. Blacks and their traditions to name their kids after stars, kind of funny, isn't it? But anyway, I am willing to pay Gringotts to check those claims and give me the possibility to claim those titles and any others you might find as soon as possible."

Gornuk wrote all of Harry's potential claims down and assured him to follow his wishes, while McGonagall and Hermione were still stunned. When Gornuk left them after Harry asked for a list of the vault's contents, he cast a wordless Muffliato. "I hope it is obvious that this matter should stay between us for the beginning. You surely want to know how I am aware of all that?" Both witches definitely did and even held back any questions, because they wanted to hear what he had to say: "Well, on the other side my reaper and I decided to give me a head start. We conspired a bit with my parents, my great-grandfather, the founders, Merlin and Ariana Dumbledore to be able to archive the best outcome."

Now he had to answer dozens of questions about the founders, the other side and many other things but that all stopped when Gornuk returned and Harry lifted the spell.

"Well, Lord Potter, you are a very lucky and now very wealthy man. I have listed seventeen estates as well as other properties, for example in Diagon Alley, which have been rented, some very lucrative business shares, a vast amount of books, furniture, art and jewellery locked away in the vaults and a bit over three quarters of a billion of Galleons, annual income of around G20.000 and costs of around G7.000. Those include maintenance, Gringotts and other things that are listed in detail here." Harry was handed a ledger that was quite thick, showing all those numbers. He was way beyond surprised and from his previous life he knew that there were hardly any families that were richer, one of them was House Black. "Are you currently investing or do you need my permission to do that?" The goblin explained that he was currently not able to work towards enriching the Potter family but with Harry's permission he could easily do so, and that with a guarantee of success or repayment by the bank. No loopholes existed there, but that method was only available to the high-profile customers. Harry granted said permission and asked for a good number of Galleons and muggle money before the trio left the bank, thanking the goblin in the appropriate way, just like the greeting.

As soon as they stepped out of the bank and into the sunshine in Diagon Alley, Harry felt relieved and actually happy. He didn't intend on going back to the Dursleys and he made that pretty clear. Minerva – she asked them both to call her that outside of class, since they had some unique history and she had a duty towards the boy as of his parents' will – was not so happy about that and expected that Dumbledore would be furious with them, especially because of the blood wards. Still, Harry was legally an adult and theoretically seventeen years old, so she could live with that, if she were to supervise and assist him if needed. Maybe she also wanted a glimpse at the Potter library, but she definitely cared. The plan was now to get Hermione back to her parents and then floo to Potter Manor as Harry should be able to pass through the wards. Hermione hoped to get her parents' approval to tag along or make them join. But that had to wait, because already from afar the two were able to see the Malfoys heading into their direction. This time Harry intended on handling this first meeting with young Draco way better. Lucius saw the professor and just had to drop a snappy comment about her having to guide the new muggleborns. Before Minerva could reply, Harry answered Malfoy's comment: "You are mistaken, Mr Malfoy. It was my wish that the deputy headmistress would accompany me and my good friend here to Diagon Alley. She might not have magical parents, but don't make the mistake and assume that you know who I am. Compared to me you are a nothing, poor and worthless."

Malfoy seemed to get even angrier when Harry began to insult him and would have certainly grabbed his wand if it weren't for McGonagall standing behind Harry.

"And who are you, if you deem the Noble House of Malfoy unworthy and poor, you little fool?" Harry smiled: "Who am I? I thought my appearance would make that obvious for you. Harry James Potter, Lord apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. I can't say it's a pleasure." He purposely declined to shake Malfoy's hand, not just to hide his ring, and just left after Lucius couldn't contain his surprise and anger. Harry had grabbed Hermione's Hand and walked towards the exit of Diagon Alley while McGonagall sent a patronus message to Hagrid telling him that she'd take care of Harry.

The Grangers were already waiting in the Leaky Cauldron and were quite happy when they saw their daughter close to the young wizard. They obviously got along very well. Minerva took the liberty of informing the Grangers of at least some of the things that had happened. Since Hermione hasn't been able to stop reading the books McGonagall brought along on her first visit, they were very familiar with the name Harry Potter and his backstory. After explaining how he was treated at the Dursleys' and that he took Lordship of his house to escape that with her now being one of his legal guardians (though he was theoretically considered an adult he was still objectively eleven) the Grangers offered for him to stay with them until school began. Hermione was thrilled, when her mother, Emma, suggested that and immediately turned towards Harry.

"Really? I would gladly accept that offer, but before that I would love to have a look at Potter Manor with professor McGonagall and – if she wants to – Hermione. And you, of course, if you want to. What the professor left out was the fact that my family's inheritance is rather large and makes me Head one of the wealthiest wizarding families in Europe. You have been made aware of the exchange rate between Galleons and Pounds?" Hermione's parents nodded. "Well, in my vaults in Gringotts I have over three quarter of a billion of them, a steady income through assets and shares, some properties and over a dozen estates. My family is quite ancient and never spent too much." That revelation left the Grangers stunned and now Dan, Hermione's father, now allowed his daughter to see the Manor the little boy apparently owned. It was not like Hermione had made any real friends in her life before so her parents wanted her to get to know the young boy, and as long as Professor McGonagall was with them there was nothing to worry about. Minerva promised them even to apparate their daughter home so they were able to leave now and didn't have to wait.

By McGonagall's request Tom, the barkeeper, let them use a fireplace in a more private room to floo, since they didn't really need to make all of that information public.

Harry took Hermione's hand and told McGonagall that he'd open the wards for her after entering the Manor, took a handful of floo powder and stepped into the green flames with Hermione at his side.

Notes:

So, what do you think? I'd be happy about any comments

Depending on the feedback I might upload the Potter Manor chapter too this week, I'm currently working on chapter five.

See ya soon