Summary:
AU. After the events of fourth year, Harry does not return to Privet Drive. He, with the help of Gringotts, decides to travel and learn as much as he can to help him in the fight against Voldemort. Super!Harry, Time-Travel!HarryRated: Fiction M - English - Adventure - Harry P., Daphne G. - Chapters: 21 - Words: 95,729 - Reviews: 1,086 - Favs: 7,483 - Follows: 3,625 - Updated: Jul 28, 2010 - Published: Jun 24, 2009 - Status: Complete - id: 5163465
Chapter 1: Opening Moves
AN: This story was inspired by Rorschach's Blot and his story 'Make a Wish'. There will be skips in time, as I don't think it is necessary to detail all of the travel and training. After all, that would make the story much more similar to several others out there, and I want to get to other points in the story. I will add details when the plot requires them.
Plot Summary: After his fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry decides before leaving Kings Cross to leave the Dursleys and seek training to help him face Voldemort. With assistance from Gringotts, thanks to his friendship with them beginning in the summer before his third year, Harry and a companion in need leave England and travel around learning. After the summer of training and traveling, they return to Hogwarts and await what the future has in store for them.
Pairing: Harry/Daphne Greengrass
Time frame: Summer after fourth year and fifth year of school
Fourteen year old Harry Potter knew that he couldn't stay with the Dursleys this summer. Not even because Voldemort was back. After all, he needed somewhere to train up to defend himself and others since Voldemort seemed to have targeted him for some vague reason that Professor Dumbledore had neglected to tell him so far. Harry wondered how he could escape, but the opportunity presented itself as the Dursleys drove by the Leaky Cauldron.
"STOP!"
"Why, Boy," Vernon asked, upset that the boy had yelled at them.
"I'll give you a couple gold coins."
"How do I know its real gold?"
"It's real," Harry said, showing him two gold galleons. "I don't know how much it is worth if you melt it, but you can take four of them if you let me out here."
"Will you call us to get you back to the house," Petunia asked.
"No," Harry said. "I swear on my magic that I will never set foot on Privet Drive again out of my own free will."
"Very well," Vernon said, as he looked startled at the flash that Harry gave off. "Just don't show up again."
"I promise I won't if I can help it," Harry said.
The teen handed his uncle four gold galleons and then got out of the car with Hedwig. He sent Hedwig to fly ahead to find him later, and then got his trunk out of the car. A few moments later, the Dursleys were traveling down the road and Harry was smirking. He'd gotten one over Dumbledore, and he'd sworn a magical oath that he wouldn't go back to Privet Drive willingly.
Of course, Harry had been planning this since he had found out that Dumbledore was his magical guardian and had not told him. Harry had found out during the summer before his third year when he spent several weeks in Diagon Alley after blowing up his Aunt Marge with accidental magic.
The goblins had been more than helpful to Harry, and had helped him move the items from the Potter Family Vault to a vault that Harry could access without Dumbledore's knowledge. It helped tremendously that Harry's mother was the heir of the Blackwood family, which was the only family of humans to ever own a portion of Gringotts. But they had given the shares back to the goblins in return for permanent preferential rates and services at Gringotts for their worthy heirs.
Harry's trust vault and the Potter Family Vault were under Dumbledore's direction, and he could tell if Harry withdrew anything from the vaults. But he wouldn't know if anything was moved to another vault, as that was handled as an internal Gringotts matter. Dumbledore could only see the amount of money in Harry's trust vault, as the contents of any Family Vault at Gringotts was only available to the Head of the Family or any designated person. And Harry was the Head of the Potter Family even if the Ministry didn't recognize him as a legal adult as they usually would.
There was something suspicious about that, but the goblins put it down to either Dumbledore or Fudge, who had an unhealthy interest in the Potter Estate since Harry's parents had died.
For now, Harry knew that he had to get back to Gringotts and they would help him establish an alternative identity to escape England and train for the summer, if not longer.
Due to Dumbledore's penchant for hiding things, such as the prophecy, from Harry, the teen hid things from the Headmaster. He hid how he was considered an adult by goblin law, and, as such, the Ministry would recognize him as an adult should he provide proof that Gringotts recognized him as a Goblin Friend and as an adult. At the suggestion of the bank manager, Lord Ragnok, Harry had withheld notifying the Ministry of Magic of his status as a Goblin Friend until he was recognized as an adult by the Ministry of Magic.
Furthermore, Harry was now an occlumens, and he hid his knowledge of things that Dumbledore wouldn't like him to know, or expect him to know, behind a special barrier. Not even truth serum could get him to reveal what he hid behind that barrier, but it was worth it to Harry. After all, the teen was becoming a brilliant rune scholar, thanks to the assistance the goblins provided him, including an undetectable goblin time turner.
He used the time turner regularly to study, and the time turner was special in that it took him to an alternate dimension whenever he was using it instead of using the same dimension. The alternate dimension was a goblin discovery, and it was virtually empty except when one of their time turners was used. The dimension would reorganize itself to meet the needs of the person using the time turner, and Harry usually had a nice house along with a large number of training aides, such as a spell range, a dueling arena complete with automated dueling dummy, and a house elf that joined him whenever he used the time turner. This was to provide him with a means of getting help if he was injured. The elf would be able to summon a goblin healer if he was injured or unable to respond for some reason.
Now, Harry slipped on the runic bracelet the goblins gave him. The bracelet wasn't just a glamour charm. It transfigured his body using a runic transfiguration method that Harry was currently studying. His alternate identity was that of a 21 year old man named James Smith. James had brown hair and blue eyes, along with a build similar to Harry's true build when he wasn't hiding behind his goblin-made bracelet to hide his true changes.
Harry had finally thrown the yolk of the damage of the Dursleys, and, thanks to the time turner, he regularly exercised and had great meals. This time turner allowed him to go back as little as ten minutes in time, enough to get a quick bite to eat before getting back to the normal time stream. His true form was slightly different than what everyone else expected.
His body was a bit bigger, and he was more the size of his father. He didn't look like a clone of his father. That was due to a spell that was placed on him as a child to prevent him from using his Metamorphmagus abilities. It was placed on him by Dumbledore when he was dropped off at the Dursleys, and Harry understood why it had to be placed when he was younger. But he didn't understand why it wasn't removed when he was eleven and could learn to control his abilities. That was unacceptable to the teen, and he knew that Dumbledore would have to answer a lot of questions for Harry before he would ever trust the old man.
A few minutes after being dropped off by the Dursleys, Harry entered Gringotts to the bowing goblins. The goblin teller recognized him immediately, and then motioned for him to follow.
When Harry sat down, he was in the office of his account manager, Griphook.
"Mr. Potter, how can Gringotts help you today?"
"Have you heard about what happened at the end of the Tournament?"
"We are most curious, Mr. Potter. There are rumors that you fought the Dark Lord again."
Harry handed the goblin a phial containing a copy of the memory of the event.
"I am willing to swear an oath on my magic as to the veracity of this memory."
Griphook nodded.
"I shall take it to the Director as soon as we complete our business."
"Thank you," Harry said. "All I ask is that you consider your options at this stage. I would prefer if you helped me, but I can handle the goblin nation remaining neutral."
Griphook nodded. This was what he and his bosses liked about Harry. He didn't presume the goblins would help him every time, but, instead, stated that he was willing to earn their help, or allow them to remain neutral, something other parties wouldn't do.
"Albus Dumbledore asked William Weasley to start talking to our managers and get us to support him in the fight against the Dark Lord."
Harry nodded.
"I suppose Dumbledore has restarted his vigilante organization?"
"You are correct," Griphook said. "I can't tell you the membership, but it is assumed Mr. Weasley and his family are heavily involved, as are the previous members who survived the war."
Harry nodded.
"Griphook, is there a way I can use the large time ritual room to go back to train?"
"I will have to get permission from the Director for this, Mr. Potter. You could use the small time turner to make a lot of time in the alternate dimension. You know how it works and you can never see another alternate as long as you never leave the dimension."
"I am aware of that. But I feel that I need to travel and study magic around the world in real time. Books are great, but there is something said about having a live tutor to help."
"I agree. You do have the standing agreement for one of our mages to train you in the time dimension for up to six months."
"I remember. If you don't mind, could you inform Director Ragnok that I would like to take him up on that offer?"
"I will inform him," Griphook said. "If you will please wait here?"
Harry nodded his assent and the goblin left to speak with the bank director, and one of the leaders of the goblin nation. Harry knew that the goblins would entertain his request as a goblin friend, and he would have to help them out as he could. But he was already going to do that with a planned campaign to allow goblins and others to have advanced rights in the wizard government that they had previously lost due to the greed and prejudices of wizards.
While Griphook was gone, Harry pulled out his book on gobbledegook and started to study it again. He was trying to learn the goblin language, and he was learning it well. He was in the advanced book already, thanks to the equipment he had purchased from a traveling merchant the goblins introduced him to. This merchant provided Harry with all sorts of things, and Harry had used the merchant as the middle man to sell off the carcass of the basilisk that he salvaged from underneath Hogwarts using the time turner earlier this year. It made both men and the goblins quite wealthy, as basilisk parts were quite rare and got quite a bit of gold per ounce.
Harry had tripled his fortune with selling the basilisk carcass, and the goblins respected him for doing that. It was no easy feat to triple a fortune of about 100,000 galleons in less than a year. And there was even more money available in the basilisk that Harry was getting throughout the next few years since there was so much basilisk available. Of course, having read up on potions, Harry knew that the basilisk parts were great in potions, and he had saved a large portion of the basilisk parts for his own personal use, just as the goblins did.
Harry just finished the last page in the book when Griphook returned with Ragnok. Harry stood in respect to the elder goblin.
"War Leader Ragnok," Harry said, in gobbledegook. "It is an honor to see you again."
"It is an honor, Mr. Potter," the goblin replied in his native language. "Please, have a seat. I have come to discuss your requests."
Harry nodded and waited for Ragnok to sit down in Griphook's comfortable chair before sitting himself. It was a mark of respect, and the goblins respected Harry for it. It was another reason he was a goblin friend.
"Mr. Potter, I cannot allow you to use the time ritual room. Unfortunately, it is being repaired right now and the Ministry is attempting to force us to destroy it. I cannot in good conscious let you use it or face the false accusations of breaking several treaties."
"I understand," Harry replied.
"As for the goblin mage, I can provide you with a goblin mage to train you in combat magic, warding, healing, and curse-breaking. You won't be able to learn all of our magic due to the way you humans must use magic and our rules, but I promise that no other human will know as much about goblin magic as you will."
"I am honored to receive whatever you deem me worthy," Harry said.
Ragnok gave a toothy grin.
"Mr. Potter, that is the reason that we are willing to help you as much as possible. I can say that we will support you as much as our neutrality will allow us to do. Due to the fear that we will be on the wrong side of a conflict, goblin law prohibits us from taking an active part in any wizard conflict between wizards or between other magical beings. We cannot afford to lose the business that fighting on either side would ensure we lost. And if we were on the losing side, the goblin nation would lose a lot more than gold."
"I understand. If I can get your promise of neutrality, I will be more than happy to respect your wishes."
"I can give you a promise of neutrality, Mr. Potter. As a goblin friend, however, we can help you train to learn more magic than a human can normally learn from Gringotts. And I will ensure that your preferential rates are extended to any vault you personally open, even if there are others who may legally access the vaults."
Harry nodded.
"Thank you, sir," Harry said, respectfully.
"Mr. Potter, you should return tomorrow using your portkey to the inner sanctum of Gringotts after 18 hours. At that time, your tutor will be introduced to you, and you will be given another batch of the potion to restrict your aging. And we will allow you to learn how to make this potion as long as you don't allow anyone else to learn how to make it."
"I am willing to sign any and all confidentiality agreements for this training," Harry said. "If it would make you and your people feel better, I will sign a blood oath not to teach anyone else what you allow me to learn without your express written permission. Of course, I would feel better if I were given an extensive list of knowledge that I cannot teach another without your permission."
"We can arrange that, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said. "The first agreement will be signed before you are trained. Then, when you return, we will provide you with a list of items that you cannot teach another. It will take some time to come up with this list, though we have already prepared a list of items that we are allowed to legally teach you."
Ragnok stood, and Harry and Griphook did the same.
"Mr. Potter, I do wish I could do more to help you against this Dark Lord. Gringotts goblins know that he will turn on us if your side loses, but our laws and several treaties prohibit us from taking up arms against wizards. When you return tomorrow evening, we will sign the contract and provide you with the list of items you cannot teach another. I will also go as far as to provide you with a list of potential tutors in magical subjects. We will contact them about training you to see if they would be amenable to discussing training options along with payment for the training while using a goblin time turner.
"This method will allow you to train in an alternate dimension while having time to rest and have a vacation that you richly deserve."
"Thank you, Director," Harry said. "I will remember how much you have helped me so far."
Ragnok and Harry shook hands, and then Ragnok left to return to his duties. Griphook sat down and motioned for Harry to do so.
"Mr. Potter, is there anything else I can help you with?"
"No thank you, Griphook. Unless there is something you have for me?"
"I do have notice that Mr. Dumbledore has been asking around about accessing the Potter Family Vault. As you know, it now contains the family jewels, and the heirlooms that you did not remove to your other vault. I can promise you that he will not be given access to this vault.
"Minister Fudge has made discrete inquiries as to the status of your accounts, and he has used Ministry resources to place a monitoring requirement on your Potter trust vault, which is the only Potter vault you can legally access right now due to your age and status."
Harry's other vault was still held under the name of Blackwood so he could access it without raising suspicion. He had a linked debit card, money bag, and wallet that would allow him to withdraw any denomination of any currency in the world. It was also this vault that contained the proceeds from the basilisk. And Harry knew that he could transfer assets between family vaults that would be combined into one once he had full access to all of them. But he couldn't transfer things from the Potter Family Vault to his Potter Trust Vault. Nor could he transfer from the Blackwood Family Vault to the Potter Trust Vault. It was only because of a loophole that he was able to fully access everything from the Potter Vault, including his family heir ring, which he wore on his right ring finger.
"That's fine, Griphook. Please let me know if they attempt to enter the vaults or stop my access at any time."
"As always, Mr. Potter. But I can tell you in confidence that Director Ragnok will demand evidence of any wrongdoing before that is allowed. And we know that you have not performed any crimes. Otherwise, you would not be a goblin friend."
Harry knew the goblins detested criminals, so a goblin friend who committed a series of crimes against the goblin law would no longer be goblin friends and would lose any preferential benefits. If they violated a wizard law but didn't violate goblin law, the goblin friend could seek asylum at any Gringotts around the world to be transferred to another country that allowed them to receive asylum. This was the goblin's way of protecting their friends from the unjust, prejudiced wizard laws that supported the purebloods in countries, especially in Europe and in communist countries such as China or dictatorships such as Iraq.
After thanking Griphook for his assistance today, Harry left Gringotts with a goal in mind. He was going to gather up the things he would need for traveling, and he knew that his trunk was sufficient to hold all of his belongings. He had to organize everything, and he would get a room at the Leaky Cauldron and spend the evening hours and morning hours determining what he had and what he needed. After all, he didn't want to purchase anything he didn't have to.
Though he was wealthy, Harry knew that to maintain that wealth, he would have to spend less than he had come into his account. He was considering ways to have an additional income, but all of the ways he knew so far were not going to be helpful right now. He wasn't knowledgeable enough about magic to create things to sell, nor was he able to patent a spell that he could sell to the highest bidder. The only way he had income right now was from the interest his Gringotts account received and the basilisk parts he sold through the traveling merchant.
Harry knew the man would be back in town later that day and he would be at Gringotts for the goblins and the few humans the goblins allowed in their inner sanctum to purchase things from him. They could also place orders and the man would do his best to legally find the items the clients wanted.
And this would be a good chance, as the man had a large selection of merchandise, though he didn't peddle books, other than rare tomes worth a good bit. But the goblins would allow Harry to purchase copies of certain books they had, and Harry had taken advantage of that to increase the size of his library. One of the goblin archivists had assisted him, for a fee, in taking an inventory of his family library and copying it so he could carry copies of the books in his trunk. He had an accurate list of the books he owned, and knew that he had several thousand books that it would take him years to read and study.
The Potters had a great selection of books on warding, defensive magic, and combat magic. The Blackwoods had a large selection of books on potions, runes, and spell creation. Both libraries had the requisite books for study to the NEWT level or even beyond in most legal areas in the wizarding world. They even had books that were named illegal after they had legally purchased them. Neither library had many ancient books other than heavily edited translations the owners sold.
After making up his mind, Harry decided to go to the Leaky Cauldron and get a room. He signed in as Richard Smith, using the middle name of his alias, James Richard Smith. It would throw off anyone looking for him, as he was sure that Dumbledore was looking for him now. Tom delivered a great dinner to Harry and the teen retired to his room for the evening, taking his trunk and using the time turner to go into the alternate dimension to take an inventory of his belongings and check it off against the items he thought he might need for a world-wide journey.
Albus Dumbledore sighed as he looked at No. 4 Privet Drive. It was in flames, as the Death Eaters had appeared, along with Voldemort himself, when the wards had fallen. The Ministry Aurors had responded in force, thinking Harry had illegally used spells, but Voldemort himself killed a few of the Aurors before the Order of the Phoenix and Albus Dumbledore arrived.
Now Voldemort was in the open after a failed chance of taking out Harry when he was thought to be relatively undefended. Minister Fudge had been in shock, and Amelia Bones had initiated proceedings to remove Fudge as Minister of Magic until his part in concealing the return of Voldemort was determined. Lucius Malfoy had been killed by Aurors on the scene, and Peter Pettigrew had been captured by responding Order of the Phoenix Members.
The shock of capturing a live Peter Pettigrew vindicated Harry's efforts, and Minister Fudge had seen the writing on the wall. Director Bones had ordered that Aurors Shacklebolt and Tonks guard Pettigrew and keep him unconscious until his interrogation so he couldn't escape. Dumbledore even placed anti-animagus charms on Pettigrew to keep him from transforming into his animagus form.
But there was another problem. The Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix wondered where Harry Potter was. The Dursleys had perished in the spell fire after it was found out he had not returned to Privet Drive. That avenue of gaining information was closed, so Dumbledore sent out his people to find Harry, starting first at Diagon Alley, as that was one of the first places Harry would go. He would need money if he were to rent a place to stay.
And Dumbledore would go query the Gringotts Goblins to see if any withdrawals had been made from Harry's trust vault.
Several hours later, a mystified Albus Dumbledore knew Harry had not withdrawn money from his trust vault, nor had anyone seen him in Diagon Alley. Severus Snape reported that Voldemort had people looking for Harry, so Albus knew that it was a matter of time before he was found and captured by Voldemort's forces. After all, the boy was untrained and wouldn't be able to handle the Death Eaters if they ganged up on him. And he definitely wouldn't be able to escape Voldemort without an insane amount of luck since he wouldn't have a portkey to escape.
AN: Though I do not normally like to post unfinished stories, I think posting the story will give me the boost I need to write it and complete it in a timely fashion. I will try to post four to five chapters a week until the story is done, but I can't promise that I will be able to do so becuase of school and work. I don't know how long the story will be at the moment, but I hope it will be over thirty thousand words.
Chapter 2: Plans take shape
AN: I do have an idea of several plot points I have. I will be grateful if you would review and provide me with ideas that could be used in the story, especially near the middle. Harry will be an animagus, but I think it would be best if he has one form. I will post a poll with some of the normal choices I have used before to see what you think. Please select your top two choices. Thank you for reading.
After a grueling few days of inventorying his supplies and belongings, Harry had a list of items that he would need. He'd decided to purchase a spare wand, a wizarding travel tent complete with kitchen, food supplies, clothing appropriate for several environments, a rucksack to carry his belongings, a travel guide, and a reusable portkey.
He already had a portkey license and an apparating license in his second identity thanks to the goblins. He knew he could safely do both thanks to the training and studying he'd done under the paid tutelage under Fleur Delacour. He'd paid her to teach him to apparate and make a portkey, and she'd been sworn to secrecy about this since he was underage. She had agreed to aide him after the third task, and she had been surprised to find that he was a goblin friend, just like she and her family were. It would make things easier for him in the long run, as he had friends he could turn to if he ever got in a bind.
Harry had also promised to visit her in France this summer if he got the chance, so he made a note to send her a message as James Smith, his alias she was very much aware of. He said that he would be leaving England for most of the summer and would like to visit with her to further their friendship. That would leave it up to her, and Fleur knew that Harry wasn't looking to get into her pants. He'd made that clear since he wanted friendship first, romance second at this time. But he wouldn't be opposed to dating her if they felt it was a good option.
Upon awaking after a good night's sleep in the bed, Harry made his way downstairs to eat breakfast. He sat down at a table and Tom wordlessly handed him the Daily Prophet along with a cup of hot tea. Harry looked at the headlines and almost spat out the tea when he caught the large photograph of Voldemort in front of a burning house on Privet Drive.
YOU-KNOW-WHO RETURNS, PERSONALLY KILLS BOY-WHO-LIVED'S RELATIVES!
PETER PETTIGREW CAPTURED ALIVE, SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT!
AURORS KILL DEATH EATER LUCIUS MALFOY IN BATTLE
FUDGE ARRESTED FOR CONCEALING RETURN OF DARK LORD
WIZENGAMOT NAMES BONES MINISTER OF MAGIC IN EMERGENCY SESSION
Harry quickly read the articles and smiled. His godfather was now free, and he would never have to grace the doorsteps of No. 4 Privet Drive ever again. It was a major benefit for him. And now that the world knew Voldemort was back, things would be easier for now. But then there was the issue of Fudge and Malfoy. But he still needed to train, and the only way he expected Dumbledore to allow it was when Harry was controlling his own actions.
He closed the paper and ate his breakfast at a sedate pace, knowing that he had been vindicated and his godfather would be celebrating his freedom. The paper said that Sirius had been fined for being an illegal animagus, ordered to register his animagus form, and given ten thousand galleons per year of his illegal incarceration. Pettigrew had been sent to Azkaban for after having his magic bound for being an illegal animagus. The teen knew his godfather would be worried, so he would send him a note telling him that Harry had struck out on his own to find someone who would train him to face Voldemort, as the prophecy stated.
The note was sure to find its way to Dumbledore, and the old man would surely have a heart attack, or at least a major surprise, when he found out what Harry knew. And he would want to know how Harry knew this and why the using legilimency on Harry had not revealed this. Harry, of course, wanted to see this when it happened, as it would be a great memory to have. He would later ask Sirius to give him a copy of the memory, especially after Harry picked up the pensieve that the Traveling Merchant, American Adam Greenleaf, had picked up for him.
After paying for breakfast with a galleon, Harry headed toward Gringotts to meet with the merchant to see if he had the items he needed. Harry wanted to use this merchant because he got a great deal from the man after he had helped him make great money peddling basilisk parts. Besides, Harry wanted to see if some of the items he'd ordered, such as a wizarding tent, had come in.
"Hello, Mr. Smith," The man said, with a grin. He used Harry's alias, as the man's name, Adam Greenleaf, was an alias as well.
"Hello, Mr. Greenleaf," Harry said.
"I was able to find the items you requested," he said. "Have a look."
The man brought out a box that was labeled "Smith, Gringotts London". Harry looked through the items and found the pensieve. It was a large solicitor's pensieve which would allow him to determine if a memory was false, or to project the memory in a room. Harry smiled and nodded when he saw the pensieve. It was better than he could hope for. The wizarding tent was great, as it had a full muggle/magical hybrid kitchen, a food storage area, and even a potions area complete with an ingredient storage chest. There was one bedroom and a study, making Harry smile. This was a great traveler's tent. The next items on the list, namely potions ingredients and wand-making ingredients that were hard to find in the UK, were all available in more than the quantity Harry asked for.
"This is brilliant," Harry said. "How much do I owe you?"
"I deducted five thousand galleons from your proceeds from the latest basilisk sales," The man said. "And this is your certified draft for the proceeds."
Harry looked at the draft. It was almost a hundred thousand galleons.
"I don't want to know how you're selling this without making the prices go lower."
"I have my ways," The man said, mysteriously. It was one of the things that he didn't speak of. "Say, do you have any of these items? I'm looking to purchase them for a client. He's willing to pay top dollar."
Harry looked at the list the man had. He did a good trade in items, and Harry knew that this was how the traveling merchant worked. After a few minutes, Harry spoke.
"Yes, I do have a few of these items," he said. "I won't need them anymore."
"Would you be willing to sell them?"
"Sure," Harry said. "I was going to throw them in the charity basket."
Harry pulled out his trunk and pulled out a box from the third compartment of his seven compartment trunk. He opened the box and removed the items for the merchant's inspection. These were mainly muggle items that Harry had taken and repaired from the Dursleys. He could get good money for them from enchantment specialists who wanted to have some of these items to play with for a decent cost.
Harry sold these items for a couple hundred pounds, which was more than he would have gotten selling them to muggles. He placed this cash in his bag, and placed the draft in his bag as well. The draft would be sent to Griphook to deposit the requisite amount of cash from the merchant's Gringotts Account.
"It's nice doing business with you, Mr. Smith."
"And you too, Mr. Greenleaf," Harry said. "I shall be traveling the world soon. Are there any items you want me to keep an eye out for?"
The man nodded and handed Harry a list.
"These items always sell very well. And I'm on the lookout for these books. Some of my clients have a hard time finding legal copies of the books in their own countries due to restrictions on publishing."
"If if I find anything, I will send it to the nearest Gringotts Branch and ask them to send you notice," Harry said. "Is that acceptable?"
"It is. I look forward to working with you in the future, Mr. Smith."
Harry nodded and then left the area to shop in Diagon Alley. As he shopped, he noted that the crowd had dissipated slightly. There were also people like Remus Lupin and even Sirius speaking to various merchants and street vendors asking if they had seen Harry. The teen knew that they wouldn't have seen him, as he was not dumb enough to appear in his own form in these dangerous times.
Harry soon finished off his shopping list, making the owners of the Leaky Cauldron, Gump's Travel Shop, and the Green Grocer very happy with his large purchases from them. He purchased enough food to last for quite a while, as he knew that he would be living on his own, and might pick up a few friends along the way he wanted to feed. There was the large Butterbeer purchase from Tom at the Leaky Cauldron, and the purchase of the traveling bag, the traveler's clothing set, and the Traveler's Guide to the Magical World from the travel shop.
A few minutes later, he was in his room packing everything into the tent and his trunk. All of his food supplies went into the tent, thought some of the Butterbeer was going to stay in his trunk for easy access while traveling and staying in hotels. His clothes were likewise going to be placed in his trunk. The old clothes from the Dursleys were piled in a box that he would give to a charity. After all, someone would want these clothes to wear.
That evening, Harry went to Gringotts using the portkey that he had been given. He arrived and found that Ragnok and Griphook waited on him. Griphook was carrying a bag that would contain the books Harry would use in his studies.
"Mr. Potter, it's nice to see you again."
"And you too, War Leader Ragnok," Harry said.
"Before we begin, you will be provided, free of charge, copies of all of the books used in your training. I only ask that you do not let anyone else see them."
"I thank you for this," Harry said, with a slight bow to the elder goblin.
"Now, we must sign the confidentiality contract and you will receive the copy of the items you may not teach another."
Harry nodded. The contract was signed and the two shook on it.
"Finally, Mr. Potter, if, upon the recommendations of Mage Wartooth, you are deemed worthy, we will provide you with hands on training in curse-breaking and warding as a part of a goblin warding or curse-breaking team outside of Europe. We have discovered a way of sending you back in time for up to ten years so you may train with our teams and have the time to graduate from Apprentice to Journeyman to Master in each field."
"I appreciate it," Harry said, with a smile. "If I am deemed worthy, I would like to work with your teams."
"We will discuss this upon your return, Mr. Potter. For now, Mage Wartooth and yourself should get going. You have a lot of training to accomplish, and I suggest that you turn back time for one year."
Harry nodded as he took the potion vial Ragnok handed him.
"This phial will work for one year of time travel using our time turner," he said. "Like always," he had to add.
Minutes later, Harry and Wartooth were in the alternate dimension. Wartooth told Harry what he would expect, and the teen knew it was going to be a very long year of training in this alternate dimension. But it would be worth it in the end.
While training in the alternate dimension, Harry learned a lot about the theory of magic and wand magic. The goblins kept an impressive history of wand magic and wand lore though they were prohibited by a treaty from possessing wands. They used to make and use wands and staves, but a war stopped that when the Wizards, allied with Vampires and the House Elves, forced the Goblins to surrender and sign a magical treaty for all of them that prevented them from using magical foci.
Harry learned a lot of ancient battle magic and warding done with a wand that modern wizards wouldn't know. After all, goblins had advanced from wand magic to wandless magic, while wizards had regressed from wandless magic to wand magic over the years. There were two dozen definitive books on goblin wand magic, ward magic, healing, and curse-breaking techniques that Harry learned while in training. All of these techniques depended on the user to be able to use a wand or a focus, and Harry was the first being in several centuries to be able to legally use this magic.
With a wealth of new spell knowledge, Harry left the Transdimensional training location and returned to the place he left.
Ragnok grinned when he felt the magic of the two returning. He looked Harry over, as the teen had gone without his glamour bracelet.
Harry's body had grown until he was his adult height and weight. He was 5'11" and weight just under twelve stone with his stocky build. It turned out that he had inherited his build from his mother's side of the family, as his grandfather had been stocky. His black hair was spiked, as he didn't like long hair. And he had a mustache on his ruggedly handsome face.
"I see your training did wonders for you," Ragnok said. "How was it?"
"It was brilliant," Harry said, in his baritone voice. "I learned a lot, and I am amazed that you goblins knew so much magic wizards don't know or forgot how to do."
Ragnok grinned.
"And that is why they forced us to relinquish our wands. You should be on a par with the best Aurors in terms of magical knowledge. At least for types of spells. Master War Mage Wartooth, how did Mr. Potter fare in his training?"
"War Leader Ragnok, War Mage Potter has graduated from the Standard War Mage Training Program and is fully eligible for the Warding and Curse-breaking Training programs."
"And his healing?"
"He is fully rated as a field healer and can use some wandless magic."
Ragnok nodded.
"I expected as much. Mr. Potter, if you are willing, I would like to send you back to the past with this letter. When you get there, bring it to me and show me your ring. It will prove your identity, and then I will arrange for your training as a curse-breaker and a warding specialist."
"Where will I train?"
"You will train in curse-breaking in Egypt, the best place to learn those subjects," Ragnok said. "Expect a very hard training program."
"Sir, would it be possible for me to wait until the end of the summer and more training? I would like to at least have taken the NEWTs and OWLs to get appropriate grades."
"Indeed, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said. "I can concur with this. If you wish, we send you back and you can return to your vacation after you graduate from the training programs."
Harry nodded as a goblin appeared and spoke to Ragnok.
"Excuse me, War Leader Ragnok," the goblin said. "But I have an emergency situation."
"What is it, Grimtoe?"
"The Greengrass Family has been all but murdered. The Heiress is in the office of Account Manager Goldtooth as we speak."
Ragnok nodded.
"It seems the war is going to get worse, Mr. Potter," Ragnok said. "The Greengrass Family is the only other family that has status as goblin friends in the United Kingdom. If you will wait, I would like to see if you would take Miss Greengrass with you to train. I'm sure she will appreciate the training and will be willing to provide her own support during this. The Greengrass Family is several times wealthier than your family."
Harry nodded.
An hour later, Harry was escorted to the place where a grieving Daphne Greengrass lay on a sofa. Harry was going to assist her as much as possible, and then explain the offer for her to travel with him this summer to train and have a vacation.
He smiled softly and then cleared his throat.
The girl took one look at him and then threw herself into his arms, sobbing. Harry didn't know what to do with a sobbing girl, so he gently patted her on the back as she clutched his robes tightly as she sobbed.
A few minutes later, and the girl had slowly stopped sobbing. She looked up at Harry with teary eyes and then backed away suddenly.
"Potter."
"Daphne," Harry said, in a soft voice.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ragnok asked me to speak with you," Harry said.
"Why," the brunette asked, her soft almond eyes filled with curiosity.
"It seems we are both goblin friends, and that alone is a special thing since we are the only two in the United Kingdom."
Daphne teared up again.
"I'm sorry," Harry said, suddenly. "I'm not too good at talking to people."
Daphne snorted in amusement.
"Hanging around Granger and Weasley makes me wonder why. Speaking of questions. Why is the Gryffindor Golden Boy concerned with a Slytherin like me when you could be out shagging your fan girls after you were proven to be right?"
Harry smiled.
"Well, I'm on an unauthorized vacation, and thought you might could use one too."
Daphne snorted.
"Who would authorize it?"
"Dumbledore thinks he can control what I do," Harry said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he cut me off from all communications with the Wizarding World if I had gone back to Hell."
"Hell?"
"Otherwise known as No. 4 Privet Drive, the home of my abusive relatives," Harry said, before clamming up about his history.
Daphne gave him a curious look.
"Why would you help me?"
"You look like you need it," Harry said. "And I do have an offer."
"What kind? I'm not the type to shag. I'm a virgin."
Harry smiled.
"Not that kind of offer. I'm going to travel around a bit and then train with some people using a goblin-made time turner. Would you like to join me?"
"Would you let me fight the bastards?"
"I will," Harry said. "I can't control you. I can only help you and help make sure that you don't do something stupid."
"And who will keep you from doing something stupid, Potter?"
"I guess you might," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders. "But that is yet to be determined."
Daphne gave him a slight smile and then she spoke.
"Well, what will we be doing?"
"We will be traveling to France first and meeting with a ritual teacher. There, we will learn several rituals that will increase our learning abilities and help us with certain traits."
"What kind of trait?"
"The teacher is a veela, so I suppose a lot of it will be sex magic."
Daphne's lips curled upwards as she considered what that meant.
"Yes, I'll go with you. But don't expect me to be your partner if we have to have a sex partner. I'd rather go solo."
Harry smiled at her.
"Solo is a good way to relax," Harry said, speaking from experience.
After Daphne agreed to go with Harry and train, Ragnok assisted her in setting up another identity. She had two identities to use and two rune glamour bracelets. The first was going to be Rose Smith, the wife of James Smith. Rose Smith would be a blonde-haired blue-eyed 20 year old muggle-born witch. Daphne's second identity, Sarah Brown, was also a 20 year old muggle-born witch, with green eyes and blonde hair.
Harry didn't need to adapt another identity, but he chose another one. This one would be Orion Brown, a muggle-born wizard with red-hair and blue eyes. Ragnok seemed to enjoy making up these identities, as it was a long time since he or another goblin had been involved in espionage techniques at this level.
And the best thing was that with the money Gringotts commanded, it was easy to get them legal passports and other necessary papers. This included a false education trail that would be updated and modified slightly when they got their actual exam scores. Or at least got an approximation of their actual knowledge levels. This would be more important later on if they were applying for a job or a formalized apprenticeship.
After a restful night of sleep in a bed at Gringotts, and several hours of preparing their alternative identities and making arrangements for portkeys, the couple headed out to the apparating point at Diagon Alley. They would use a portkey there to make sure that people saw them leaving.
Daphne would leave via portkey alone and meet Harry in France. It was best that way to make sure that people didn't get suspicious. And Harry knew that traveling alone was best for the moment. At least until they were out of England. That way, no one could be sure who was going where until they were already there. And, by then, they would have a plan in place to take care of themselves.
As Harry walked out of Gringotts as John Smith, he smiled at Daphne, who walked out briskly a few moments after him. He stopped along the way to have an ice cream and to make sure Daphne got out safely. After all, he felt responsible for assisting her as much as possible. Daphne would appreciate it, he knew.
He ate his ice cream quickly and then watched as Daphne used her portkey. She disappeared and he got her signal a few moments later that she had arrived at her destination safely. He signaled back by activating the alert charm on a coin in his left pocket.
After vanishing his refuse, Harry stood and headed to go to the portkey point. That was the only point in Diagon Alley where it was legal to apparate or use a portkey after the declaration of emergency that Minister Bones had declared as her first official act.
The only reason Harry knew this was because of the notices put up on the buildings around Diagon Alley by Ministry flunkies.
A few moments before he got there, an incoming portkey deposited a dozen Death Eaters in the middle of the point. They started attacking immediately, taking down the three Aurors guarding the area, and then starting to attack the fleeing innocent people.
Harry knew what he had to do, and he pulled out his untraceable wand, which he'd specially made under the tutelage of Wartooth. He sent a mass stunning spell out at the Death Eaters, taking out five of them when he caught them by surprise.
Their friends turned their attention to Harry as another wave of Death Eaters appeared and joined the fight.
With two more mass stunning spells, Harry caught two more unaware of the spell, but he knew that he had a lot of trouble. After all, twenty Death Eaters, including one insane Bellatrix Lestrange, were attempting to take him out by firing a massive amount of spells.
Harry was dodging and shielding as well as firing. He was taking Death Eaters out and knew that reinforcements would have to come soon if he wanted to make it out of here alive. He could leave via the portkey, as the goblin-made portkey would get him through the wards, but he couldn't leave the civilians with all of these Death Eater around.
After several more moments of dueling, Harry started to use goblin battle magic, as the Death Eaters wouldn't have a shield that worked well against it. Some of them managed to shield from his blasting spells, but the backlash of the spell hitting their shields knocked some down or even knocked their wands out of their hands, making them easier targets for the few who were starting to fight back.
A flurry of Goblin Battle Magic made short work of the Death Eaters, and Bellatrix Lestrange was now missing her head after not noticing the spell an Auror sent at her while she was shielding against one of Harry's spells.
Once the Death Eaters were down, and there were a dozen Aurors arriving, Harry activated his portkey and left. It wouldn't do to be questioned by the Ministry. After all, some of them were inclined toward Voldemort, and he didn't want this information getting to them. It was better to have him being a mysterious person using mysterious magic than anything else.
At Diagon Alley, Auror Nymphadora Tonks was examining the Death Eaters. Nearly half of the Death Eaters were dead from the unknown wizard and the unknown magic he used. She didn't know what to think, as her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, was one of those. Interestingly enough, most of the Death Eaters were known pureblood supporters of the Fudge Administration, and even included some of the low-level flunkies Fudge had hired on at the Ministry.
Tonks looked up as Headmaster Dumbledore and Minister Bones arrived at Diagon Alley to see what was going on. It was obvious that there was a new player in town, and both the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix would try to find out who he was. Several people knew him by the name of James Smith, and that was all they knew.
They didn't know where he had come from, but did know that he spent a lot of time at Gringotts in the past few days. That avenue was shut, as the Gringotts goblins would never talk about any of their clients.
Chapter 3: The Plan Begins
AN: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed the story so far. I hope this chapter meets your expectations. The poll for Harry's animagus form is still up. I can guarantee that he will have a form, but there is no guarantee he will be able to use the form in the time frame of this story.
When Harry got to France, he looked around for his companion. He found her waiting at a coffee shop drinking a cup of hot tea. He walked over to her.
"Hello, Sarah."
"Hi, James," Daphne said, brightly. "How was your stay in England?"
"It was ok. It ended badly with a few Death Munchers."
"Oh," she asked, looking at him. "What happened?"
"Right as I was getting ready to leave Diagon Alley, they arrived. I had to stop them from attacking the people. I don't know how many of them were killed, but I do know that the Ministry will be looking to question me."
"Why is that?"
"I used goblin battle magic."
"Ah," Rose said. "Well, I made contact with our first tutor. She and her sister have agreed to teach us. We're to meet them in Nice at this address."
Harry glanced at the note and noticed it was charmed. Daphne smiled at him and then motioned for him to sit down.
Harry sat down and then Daphne spoke again.
"We have a few days before we have to be there. What do you want to do in the mean time?"
"I need new clothes," Harry said. "I have a few things, and I could use an expert's advice."
Daphne's eyes lit up with excitement and she smiled.
"We are in the right city for this," Daphne said. "I've shopped here before and it is a great place for clothes shopping. After all, Paris is the home to many top notch boutiques. Do you have any type of clothes in mind?"
"Not really," Harry said. "But I do need a few clothes that will be appropriate for our travels. I think you should check out my wardrobe and make your suggestions."
"I can do that," Daphne said. "As long as you pay for your own clothes. Now about our room arrangements."
"I've contacted a hotel, and we'll stay in Paris for a night or two," Harry said. "I didn't know how long we would be, so our friend made arrangements for us to have two nights at the Hotel Duc de Saint-Simon under my name."
"Is it…"
"A suite with a king sized bed."
"That will work fine for now," Daphne said. "But I'm warning you…"
Hermione Granger, best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived and his side-kick, Ronald Weasley, woke up the morning after she had gotten home from Hogwarts. As the warm water from the shower hit the bushy-haired witch, her mind turned to her best friends and what they were doing. Hermione knew that her parents had been quite upset with the events of the past year once they had gotten her to talk about it.
There was even talk that she would be removed from Hogwarts. Hermione didn't know who had told them, but her parents had said that they had gotten a letter from the school that detailed some of the precautions being taken to protect Hogwarts from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as the letter put it. And Hermione had been forced to sit down and discuss several things with her parents, especially about the Tri-Wizard Tournament and her date with International Quidditch Star Viktor Krum.
Over all, Hermione thought that she had managed to convince her parents to let her stay at Hogwarts, but she was worried that she would have to defend her choice again if her parents learned more about what was really happening in the Wizarding World. After all, Hermione's parents, Charles and Rosalind Granger would be reading the Daily Prophet, as the couple had taken a subscription out to the paper after they learned Hermione was a witch.
Her shower done, Hermione toweled off as she considered what she should discuss with her parents.
Downstairs at the kitchen table, the elder Grangers were discussing the newest paper from the Wizarding World. It was later than normal, and Hermione was curious as to what had their attention.
"Hermione, darling, please sit down," Charles said to his daughter. "We have a lot to discuss."
"What do you want to talk about, Daddy," Hermione asked, looking at her middle-aged father.
"This," The man said, showing Hermione the headlines. "Your friend Harry's relatives were killed by You-Know-Who last night."
Hermione's soft chocolate eyes opened wide with fright as she snatched the paper out of her father's hand. The headlines made her think, but she smiled slightly.
"It says that he wasn't there, or they don't think he was," Hermione said. "And I'm glad Minister Fudge is gone. He was told that Voldemort was back and denied it."
"Your Minister was told that creature was back and denied it?"
"Yes," Hermione said. "One of the Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy, supported Fudge's campaign and gave donations to certain causes."
"So he was bribing the Minister and Ministry?"
"It seems so, mum. Unlike Parliament and the Prime Minister, the Magical Government leaders, namely the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Minister have more absolute authority. Essentially, the Minister can get away with things as long as the Wizengamot supports him. And the Wizengamot is made up of mostly older families and those tend to be the type of bigots who support Voldemort."
"I see," Rosalind said to her daughter. "And what about this Sirius Black character? Wasn't he the one that the media said was armed and dangerous?"
"Yes," Hermione said. "He escaped from the Wizarding Prison before my third year and everyone thought he was after Harry. It turns out that he was never given a trial and was innocent of any crimes, save for escaping Azkaban. The person who framed him, Peter Pettigrew, betrayed Harry's parents and was the reason they were killed."
"And have you heard from Harry?"
"No," Hermione said. "He hasn't written to me. I suspect he's with his godfather now that he's been freed. I'd be surprised if he wasn't."
A knock at the door surprised them all. Hermione's father gave her a look, and Hermione nodded. She had her wand with her. Just in case. Mr. Granger then opened the door and said a few words with the man at the door.
"Hermione, Mr. Black is here to see you."
Hermione walked up and saw Sirius standing with a pink-haired woman.
"Who are you," Hermione demanded of the pink-haired woman.
"This is my cousin, Nymphadora Tonks," Sirius said. "And if you'll let me in, I'll show you that it's me."
Hermione nodded and kept her wand trained on the two obviously magical people. The door was shut and Sirius changed into his animagus form before changing back. Hermione lowered her wand at that, as an animagus couldn't be copied under polyjuice potion.
"Have you heard from Harry," Hermione asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Harry's missing."
"Missing? What did he do?"
"He didn't go home with the Dursleys. Neighbors said that he never was in the car with them. Only three people."
"Weren't they protected?"
"Yes, they were. But the protections ended when Harry decided he wasn't staying with the Dursleys."
After a few minutes, Sirius and Tonks left, but after explaining that Dumbledore would be placing up protective wards over the Grangers to allow them time to use an emergency portkey to get to a safe place.
The Order of the Phoenix held an emergency meeting that night. All of the members were present, including the Weasleys. And the Weasleys had decided to come and live at Headquarters for safety reasons until the Burrow could be protected. It was too dangerous for them to be without protections since everyone knew Harry Potter had spent some time at the Burrow, and, with his relatives dead, the Burrow was the obvious choice of residence for Harry.
Ron Weasley had heard his best friend was missing since the night before. He didn't know what Harry was doing, but he had decided to wait and see if Harry would send a letter to them. He knew Harry would send a letter if he could safely do so, and he seriously wanted his best friend to do so. But Ron was upset that he wasn't allowed in the meeting to discuss the news on the war and the latest news on the search for Harry.
To bide his time until the meeting was over, Ron, his younger sister Ginny, and his older twin brothers Fred and George spent their time discussing where Harry might be and what could have caused him to leave.
In the kitchen, where the Order of the Phoenix met, Albus Dumbledore spoke.
"I call this meeting to order," Dumbledore said. "Alastor, do you have any new information for us?"
"Yes," the retired Master Auror, Alastor Moody, said. "I do know that the man who killed several Death Eaters and allowed Aurors to captured them is called Mr. Smith. Some of the merchants in the Alley think he's James Smith, and others think he's Richard Smith."
"What kind of magic did he use," Arthur Weasley asked.
"He used some sort of battle magic that I'm not familiar with," Alastor said. "The magic did have the signs of being similar to combat magic, and he was reported to have used a wide area stunning spell."
"That takes a lot of power," Minerva McGonagall said, in her Scottish burr.
"Aye," Moody said to his friend. "So I expect that this new player in town is a very serious player, and we probably can expect his help defeating the Death Eaters."
"We should find out what we can about him," Dumbledore said. "And if we think it is a good idea later, we will invite him into the Order. Severus, what do you have?"
Resident spy and potions master Severus Snape sneered slightly at the others in the room, especially the mutt and the werewolf before speaking.
"The Dark Lord was quite angry," Snape reported, in his silky tone. "He was angry that the Potter brat wasn't at the house, and he was angry that we can't find Potter. He tortured several of his people for not knowing the Potter boy wasn't with the Dursleys, and then he sent us out to find him. The Dark Lord sent people out to find this Mr. Smith and kill him. We haven't located him yet."
"What of the latest plans?"
"Right now, the Dark Lord is going to concentrate on recruiting. He doesn't want to send out his people on raids unless he knows they will win. With people like Smith around, he is afraid that he will lose more inner circle, like he did Bellatrix, her husband, and brother in law. And, of course, Lucius."
"Severus," Kingsley Shacklebolt asked. "What do you know of the state of his finances? Who are his magic financial supporters? What can we do to stop them?"
"I do not know the details of this, Shacklebolt. I am a potions master and I am not trusted with details of the finances. I do know that the Dark Lord has sent me to purchase basilisk parts."
"Isn't that rare?"
"It is, but there is a source of basilisk parts on the market today. It was a large, thousand year old basilisk and it has been sold by some traveling merchant all over the world."
Dumbledore paused to consider this information.
"I know where one can find such a basilisk, Severus. The Chamber of Secrets still has the basilisk that Harry killed in his second year. We can go down there to get the basilisk parts and keep the money."
Severus smiled.
"Very well, Albus. Then you will have sold me the basilisk parts for my personal experiments."
"What does he want with basilisk parts? There are few potions that are good with those particular ingredients," Moody said.
"I do not know for sure," Snape said. "But the Dark Lord did get an O on his Potions NEWT. He said so himself. I think he will make the potions, whatever the reason, for himself. I personally can think of a few dark rituals and potions that will help the Dark Lord gain strength or gain a stronger poison. He is researching into methods of getting stronger."
"When will it be done?"
"The easiest of these potions will take a year at the least to make once we have all of the ingredients. I am to start on certain poisons and healing potions for the Dark Lord as soon as he has all of the basilisk parts we need. The only one we're lacking is venom. I do not know where any basilisk venom is."
Dumbledore shook his head.
"We'll go tonight to examine the basilisk in the Chamber, Severus. There may be venom there."
"You're going to give it to him," Moody asked, incredulously.
"No," Albus said. "We're going to save it for our own uses. I can't allow him to find basilisk venom. I need all of you to purchase as much of the basilisk parts as you can through your sources. There are a few healing potions that use basilisk parts, and there is one in particular that will allow us to gain allies."
"The Mind Restoring Potion," Severus said. "Of course, the Longbottoms."
Albus nodded and there was the sound of flapping wings. A snowy owl flew into the room and made a landing on the table. She held out her leg toward Sirius with a hoot.
"That brat has finally written," Snape spat. "Well, Black, where is he?"
Sirius took the letter and read it. He turned to Dumbledore and spoke.
"I think we need to talk, Albus."
"Can I enquire as for the reasons of this?"
"Let me read you the entire letter. There is nothing here that can harm him if it gets to the wrong party."
Moody nodded and then Sirius read the letter out loud.
"Dear Sirius, and I guess Dumbledore too.
"By now, you know I am missing from Privet Drive. I bribed my uncle to let me out at Gringotts so I could get some money and get away from things. There are several reasons that I have done this. One, I have heard the prophecy about me and Voldemort. Two, Dumbledore wouldn't hear of me training right now. Three, Fudge was an idiot, but that problem is taken care of now. And Four, I want to travel and have time to enjoy myself as I train to face Voldemort.
"I know you will be worried about me, but don't. I will do my best to continue writing you letters, but Hedwig will stay with you because she is too visible. Let her go to Hermione and fly back and forth for Hermione. If you have any letters for me, send them to Gringotts, care of Griphook, and he will forward them to me. The goblins do know where I am, as I have made contact with them as a safety precaution.
"Oh, Dumbledore, I did take what was mine from Hogwarts. The basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets is now making my bank account bigger. It was mine by right of conquest, so I took what is mine before you or the greasy haired bastard could steal it from me for your own personal use."
Sirius and Remus sniggered.
"THAT ARROGANT FOOL!" Snape yelled. "He doesn't know what he's done."
Dumbledore looked kind of upset, but he motioned for Sirius to continue.
"If Snape is there, he's claiming I'm arrogant. I'm not arrogant. Until I can sell everything, I have made arrangements to have that basilisk secured under the Fidelius Charm with a secret keeper I shall not name.
"To the rest of you, namely the Weasleys and Hermione, I don't want you to get angry at me. I did what I did for a reason, and it is for the Greater Good.
"Just so you know, I will be returning to Hogwarts in the fall. I just need time to myself and time to train. And Dumbledore, I know you will read this letter, so I tell you that we need to have a serious discussion about you hiding things from me. There is a lot you should have done, including training me and informed me of the existence of a Family Vault, as well as your guardianship over me, which I guess is now a moot point since Sirius is out of Azkaban and he is the one my parents wished to become my guardian. But this does make me wonder if you are manipulating me with your games? No matter. We will deal with that later.
"Enjoy your summer, sincerely, Harry."
The members of the Order of the Phoenix sat down to contemplate this and their next actions. One Severus Snape was cursing because he had lost the chance of getting tens of thousands of galleons worth of basilisk parts for his personal lab for free.
Meanwhile, in France, Harry sat down on the bed watching Daphne brush her hair. It reached nearly down to the middle of her back, and he was kicking himself many times. He wondered why he had skipped over such an interesting person.
"Daphne?"
"What do you want, Potter? I'm busy," the girl replied, not missing a stroke.
"How could I miss someone like you?"
"Miss me? You've never known me!" Daphne exclaimed, giving him a glare.
"I mean," Harry said, his face turning a slight shade of red. "Is how could I miss seeing and speaking to you at Hogwarts?"
"Two words, Potter," Daphne hissed. "House rivalry."
Harry nodded dumbly as Daphne gave an exasperated sigh. Potter was such a Gryffindor.
"Why do we do that? Why does it exist? How many great couples or great friends have we missed because of that?"
"You know what, Potter? I don't care one bit. All I care about at this point is surviving so I can castrate all of the Death Eaters for raping my mother and sister before murdering them!"
Harry winced at the way she said castrate and had to stop himself from checking to make sure he was whole after her verbal tirade earlier in the day. The teen wisely said nothing to anger his traveling companion.
When it was time to get into the bed, Harry remembered the colorful words Daphne had used to describe what she would do if he even thought about touching her while they were sharing the bed. He stiffly lay on the edge of the bed, not noticing a smirking Daphne relaxing on the other side of the king-sized bed.
As he lay there, he felt Daphne nearby, so he tried to move over. But instead of staying on the bed, he tumbled off onto the carpeted floor to Daphne's sniggers. He stood and glared at her before getting back on the bed with his thankfully hidden maroon face.
At Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore pondered the events of the evening. The letter from Harry had been nice to receive, but the contents had been disconcerting for the ancient Headmaster. Dumbledore had done everything he could do to protect young Harry, and all of his protection schemes were crashing down around him.
It was obvious that Harry knew of his family vault, and knew about his mother's connection to the Blackwood Family. Albus hadn't had time to explain everything, and he was required, by law, to explain everything to him before his seventeenth birthday, so he was well within his right to keep things secret. After all, Harry couldn't access the Potter Vault if he wanted to. Dumbledore had ensured that recently when he was questioning the goblins to see if Cornelius could access the Potter Vault using the Ministry authority.
And the goblins were crafty, Albus knew, which was why most wizards despised them. Goblins would work any situation to gain more money, and it was obvious they had their hooks in the young Potter heir and held the wool over his eyes about their relationship. He actually worried about what Harry had gotten from the goblins as a goblin friend, as Albus knew the Blackwoods were.
Lily had not claimed the Blackwood vault because she knew that the goblin friend status, while being helpful, almost ensured the goblins were able to legally take the contents of a vault of a goblin friend once the friend died without an heir or broke a goblin law. By not claiming the vault, the Ministry would be able to collect the contents of it, or at least someone Lily designated as her heir in her will.
Now that Albus knew Harry had been working closely with the goblins, he wondered if Harry had claimed the vault and the status of goblin friend. If he did, there was also a time turner, one that Albus had refused, that Harry would think was enticing. This time turner did work as advertised, but what the goblins would not say was that the time turner used the life force of the wizard using it. It was a one-to-one trade off, meaning for every hour one used the time turner to go back in time, the witch or wizard using it would lose one hour of their maximum life expectancy they had from birth.
And if Harry had the goblins recommend a merchant for selling the basilisk, Albus knew that the goblins were making a lot of money. They would need some money from Harry for it, which would probably be in the form of donated basilisk parts, and then the goblins would make money off of whatever their merchant, a Mr. Greenleaf, sold to anyone. And that meant the goblins would recommend this Greenleaf character of dubious origins to Harry for his purchases.
Overall, Albus was really worried about the status of Harry Potter, and if he was overusing the goblin time-turner he suspected he had. After all, the time turner was given to the human, but the goblins would call it back the moment it left the person's hands and became the possession of another. This included if he allowed someone else to borrow it, or if it was stolen from him. And then the goblins would never give it back to the human goblin friend, but would sell it to them for an exorbitantly high price that most could not pay, and, thus, leaving the goblins with the ability to name another goblin friend and give them the portkey in the hopes they would die young without magical heirs.
Even if the goblins did give him training and great rates for being a goblin friend, the goblin nation stood to make much more than Harry could ever make off of his use of the training resources they gave him or sold to him for cheap. Especially if Harry died without a will. Then the Potter Estate in its entirety, including the Potter Accounts held in the Muggle World and in the Swiss Gnomes Bank, would become property of the goblin nation.
It was too late, Albus knew. Once goblin friend status was conferred, it was for life except in the rare instance the goblins would remove the goblin friend. They had only done this historically if the goblin friend had lost a lot of his wealth gambling or in some other way.
Overall, Albus hoped the child was ok and would learn not to trust the goblins.
Severus Snape was not a happy man. He had told the Dark Lord he could get the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets with telling Dumbledore, but the Potter brat had stolen it before he could get to it. He had suffered several bouts of the Cruciatus Curse because of that, and the Dark Lord's supporters would have to shell out tens of thousands of galleons to purchase the hundreds of ounces of basilisk parts the Dark Lord ordered. And then there was the issue of finding basilisk venom. It was the rarest of the basilisk parts, as the venom had to be collected within a certain time frame and bottled correctly. Any potions maker worth their salt would keep all of the basilisk venom, as it was the most useful in healing potions, and in poisons.
On top of that, Severus had found out that the Dursleys had been placed under the Imperious Potion by a Death Eater agent who had slipped it to them using a restaurant employee under the Imperious Curse. This worried Severus, as he stood to lose a lot if the Dark Lord did win. After all, he had been playing both sides for years, and when Severus was no longer able to spy on Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix, the Dark Lord would kill him since there were other potions masters the Dark Lord could coerce to work for him.
As Severus activated his portkey to get back to Hogwarts after somewhat recovering from the four Cruciatus curses he'd been held under for short periods of time, he cursed the Potter boy for shortening his own lifespan considerably.