Chapter 1 The Will
A/N All this belongs to JKRowling.
The common room was ghostly silent as the only sound heard was an occasional deep breath taken by one of the teens. Hedwig and Pig were even being still and quietly sitting on top of their cages while Crookshanks lay at Hermione’s feet. Looking at the cold fireplace, Harry was lost in thought, remembering Sirius’ face had appeared in that fireplace only the year before.
A deafening crack sounded in the silent, startling all four and causing Pig to take flight, as Dobby delivered a lunch tray and some pumpkin juice. Harry never realized how quiet the castle was when most of the students were gone.
“Harry Potter sir, Headmistress McGonagall request that you and your friends come to her office at one o’clock, sir,” he said quietly.
“Okay, Dobby,” Harry said. With another deafening crack in the silence, Dobby left. Harry almost grinned at thinking Pig wouldn’t settle down now. Harry never registered the fact that Dobby didn’t eagerly address Harry when he popped into the room.
As Ron reached for a sandwich, he complained again, “I still would like to know why we couldn’t go home with the rest of our friends on the train. Well, I mean, since they are closing the school and everything. This would have been our last time to ride the Hogwarts Express.” Harry didn’t even hear him while Ginny and Hermione seemed not to want to answer him. Once again the room was very silence except for the flapping of Pig’s wings.
The previous day, while everyone else was packing their trunks before going to board the Hogwarts Express to take them home, four owls arrived for Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry. The notes asked them not to get on the train. The notes also asked them not to leave the castle grounds and to stay in their common room tomorrow until Professor McGonagall contacted them.
Harry’s mind now drifted to yesterday, as the four students had gone down to the Great Entrance and said their ‘goodbyes’ to acquaintances and friends, not knowing if the school would re-open in the fall or whether, unfortunately, if all would survive the summer. Harry couldn’t help but blame himself for the danger he was putting everyone in. Harry was so dishearten that he had spent the rest of the day and most of the night walking around the castle grounds. His mind then recalled the conversations he had with two unlikely beings.
“Hello, Firenze,” Harry said to the centaur, who was outside the Great Entrance looking up at the blue sky. “It is kind of hard to see the stars in the daylight, isn’t it Firenze?”
“Hello, Mr. Potter,” Firenze replied, without taking his eyes from the heavens. “No, the stars can be seen at anytime, if you look properly.”
“Oh! What are they telling you now?”
“Many things, Mr. Potter, but the most important fact, is that you are extremely troubled.” Firenze turned from the sky to look at Harry, “What is troubling you, Mr. Potter?”
“Nothing, I’m fine, Firenze.” Harry began but the centaur tilted his chin slightly and gave Harry a piercing stare. Something broke in Harry and he began telling Firenze all of his worries, fears, and doubts. When Harry ran out of steam, Firenze knew everything, from the prophecy to his love of Ginny and to his fear that he would fail to destroy Voldemort.
“Mr. Potter, the stars always balance out. Yes, balance…,” the centaur seemed to be talking to him self. “Good Evening Mr. Potter. We will talk again later,” Firenze said as he slowly walked towards the Forbidden Forest.
Harry, not hungry, decided to skip dinner and take a walk around the lake. Deep in thought, he sat down, leaned up against a tree near the water’s edge, and closed his eyes and was asleep within minutes. Harry felt a peaceful calmness slowly surround him. When Harry opened his eyes, the sky was dark and the stars bright. He found a tentacle from the giant squid wrapped around his left arm. Harry instinctively knew he was in no danger. Harry again closed his eyes. Surprised by a sudden jolt, Harry made to get up but was held in place by the tentacle wrapped around his arm.
“Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Potter.” Harry looked around for the source of the voice. “It is I, Mr. Potter.” Harry looked around until he noticed a soft luminescent glow from the lake. In the center of the glow, was the head of the giant squid. The head slowly sank from view, “I can not stay out of the water for long, Mr. Potter.”
“How? Who are you?” Harry voiced.
“My name is not pronounceable by your kind. I have been given the name of ‘Edward’ by one of your kind called ‘Helga’ when the castle was first built. As to how, my kind communicates by passing thoughts through touching.”
“Okay…It is nice to meet you, Mr. Edward.”
“And you, Mr. Potter. I have been watching you and wanting to talk to you since the time you came into my world.”
Stunned, Harry asked, “What?”
“I and my mate have a request of you, Mr. Potter.”
“You have a request of me? I didn’t know you have a mate.
”
“Yes, Mr. Potter. My mate is no longer in this world. She has been gone a long time.”
“I’m sorry.” Harry felt rather than heard a soft sigh and acceptance from Edward. “What is your request, Mr. Edward?”
Edward didn’t answer, but had a question of his own. “Where is your mate, Mr. Potter? I saw you two earlier today together. Why is she not here with you in this saddening time?”
Harry was not ready for that and a tear dropped from his eye, “I can’t be with her. I have to protect her from Voldemort.”
“Mr. Potter, you cannot hide from your center, and she is in your center, just as my mate has and will always be in my center.”
“I can’t…I have to…NO!” Harry shook slightly, “What is your request, Mr. Edward.”
The giant squid hesitated just for a second, “Four years after you become the Headmaster of the castle, I will leave to be with my mate. I would ask you to go to my son, and his mate, and bring them here to protect the castle as we have done.”
Harry was stupefied. “Headmaster? When? How do you know this?”
“I know not the particulars, just that one day, years to come, you will be Headmaster and my time will be up. Will you do this for me?”
“Yes, Mr. Edward.” The giant squid then told Harry where he would be able to find his son, in the future. Harry also became aware of a seed of hope germinate deep within his heart. Harry also realized the sun was starting to show from behind the mountains, yet he felt refresh and awake.
“I have to go, Mr. Potter. We may speak again later, much later.” Edward withdrew his tentacle from around Harry’s arm and slowly slid beneath the waters. Edward stayed just below the surface watching Harry until he saw him give a small grin and head back to the castle. Edward, Protector of the Hogwarts Waters, smiled in his own way, the second of two promises to Helga fulfilled. He still had a few years left before the first one was completed.
Hermione got up and starting pouring everyone some juice. Harry didn’t even notice when she handed him his.
Ginny looked at Harry and once again started to reach for his hand but stopped. Ginny was torn up inside for she desperately wanted to comfort Harry. But, he told her that he have to distance himself from her so Voldemort wouldn’t use her against him. She knew this was the wrong decision. Harry had lost so many people he loved to Voldemort that he didn’t want to take any more chances. If she could only make him see that distancing himself was not the right decision.
Harry’s body was finally able to bring his mind back to the present as his stomach voiced it’s concern that it haven’t had any work to do in the last twenty-four hours. Harry reached for a sandwich and absently began to eat. After four sandwiches, Harry’s stomach stopped complaining and got to work. Ginny also had a small smile as Harry started eating. She noticed he wasn’t present for dinner last night or breakfast this morning.
All too soon, the clock told the four it was time to go to Headmistress McGonagall’s office. Harry didn’t notice Ron and Hermione were holding hands as they proceeded to the gargoyle guardians of the Headmistress’ office. Nor did he notice that Ginny had walked beside him the whole way. When they got to the gargoyles, Harry suddenly asked if anyone knew the password. Ginny gave a small giggle and said, “Yes, I do. Chocolate Frogs," she said to the gargoyles. Harry was stunned, for surely McGonagall would not pick the same type of passwords as Dumbledore.
When they entered her office, Harry notice three sofas people-sized, which Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already seated on one, while Dobby and Winky were seated on a sofa elf-sized, and two chairs, one being goblin-sized. For the first time Harry could ever remember, Dobby didn’t jump up and greet him. Looking closely, Dobby and Winky appeared to be really depressed. Mrs. Weasley got up and quickly gave each one of them a hug. Harry then noticed Professor McGonagall, who looked a little peaky, like she did when she first returned from St. Mungo’s after being stunned by those goons. Professor McGonagall pointed Harry and Ginny to one sofa and Ron and Hermione to the other.
As Harry sat on the sofa, he quickly looked around the office. Nothing appeared to have been changed. The table of instruments was still there, Gryffindor’s sword, the Sorting Hat, Dumbledore’s Pensieve, and Fawkes’ stand were all in their prospective places as Harry remembered from a short time ago. “Where is Fawkes, Professor?” he burped out.
As she looked at Harry, Professor McGonagall replied, “I don’t know, Harry. I haven’t seen him since the funeral.”
“We will get started in a few minutes just as soon as our last guest arrives. But in the mean time, I have some good news. The Hogwarts Governors had an emergency meeting last night and confirmed that the school will remain open and that I have been appointed the Headmistress! Owls have been sent to the all parents and we already have confirmation that forty students will be coming back next year. I do hope all will return,” she said, looking at Harry. The other three grinned at this news.
Harry looked away. ”How did she know? I only told Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. It was Dumbledore all over again, he thought, looking right into him, reading his ideas, emotions, and plans.” A goblin walked into the office just as Harry was about to make a comment.
“Ah, our last guest has arrived. Everyone this is Grorn, ah, he…well for lack of a better word right now, just call him the governor of Gringotts Bank.” Professor McGonagall introduced everyone but Harry.
“Why wasn’t I introduced?” Harry asked to himself.
Professor McGonagall and Grorn sat down. She cleared her throat and then surprising all, quickly got her wand out and produced drinks for everyone. After taking a huge swallow, she finally seemed to return to her normal self. “I asked you to come here today because we have a lot of things to discuss and clear up before you four go on holiday. Dumbledore’s will was read and we are here to discuss it and some other items.”
Harry quickly looked at his portrait, but Dumbledore seemed to be sleeping. Professor McGonagall noticed his glance and spoke to him, “Harry, He will be okay. I’m told it is like being born again, he will need to learn to crawl before he can walk, and walk before he can run. All the other past Headmasters and Headmistresses have told me not to worry; it will only take a little time before he rejoins us.”
Harry looked at Ginny who was wiping a tear away and then saw Ron grab Hermione’s hand. Harry wanted so much to hold Ginny’s hand, but he knew he had to be distance for her safety.
“Harry, the first thing we have to clear up is your guardianship. After Sirius’ death, Dumbledore was appointed your guardian. Unfortunately, he didn’t appoint any other alternate should anything happen to him,” Professor McGonagall explained.
“Why didn’t he tell me?” Harry said sadly.
“I don’t know. I do know he regarded you as a son, he told me many times,” she said. “He was so proud of you, all those times you and your friends went out and confronted Voldemort and bested him. He did love you like a son!”
Once again, Ginny’s hand started towards his hand, but then stopped to rest between them on the sofa. Harry had seen the movement this time. “Was he really doing the right thing? He finally found his love for her and then just to push it away. I just don’t know if I’m doing the right thing.”
“Harry, I know it is only for a short time, but we do need to appoint new guardians for you,” Professor McGonagall stated.
“Why! I can take care of myself!” Harry insisted.
“Harry, do you really mean to say that you would not like to have Molly and Arthur as you guardians?” she said stunned.
Harry gasped, and then looked over at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Harry realized, in a way, that they were already his guardians from all the time he has spent at the Burrow, and for all the things they have done for him over the years. Harry got up and walked over to Mrs. Weasley, who stood up. Harry asked, “Mrs. Weasley, you have been my ‘unofficial’ guardian for six years, do you really want to my ‘official’ guardian?”
“Oh Harry, yes, yes, yes. I always thought of you as a son, only without the red hair!” she declared. Harry leaned forward and gave her a son’s hug. Finally breaking apart, he looked over at Mr. Weasley, who nodded.
“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley,” Harry choked.
“Don’t you dare call me Mrs. Weasley again,” she bellowed. “My name is Mum, you hear.”
Laughing, Harry said, “Yes, Mum.”
Letting go of Mrs. Weasley, he turned around and was swallow up by a huge hug from Hermione and a cry of, “I’m so happy for you, Harry!”
Ron pounded him on the back, turned to his Mum, and asked, “Does this mean all of Harry’s clothes were going to be only one color too?”
“Ron,” screamed Hermione.
“Hey, it was only a joke,” Ron said defensively.
As Harry returned to the sofa, Ginny stood up, gave him a small hug, a sisterly kiss on the cheek, and happily said, “Welcome to the family, Harry.”
Stunned, Harry felt some of the tension ebb away by the intense touch of that small kiss. He slowly raised his hand to his cheek, and once again asked himself, as he slowly sat down on the sofa, ”If he was doing the right thing.”
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat again, “Molly…Arthur will you please come sign the form of guardianship?” They walked over the desk, and with a huge eagle quill, signed.
As soon as the guardianship was signed, Grorn spoke up for the first time. “Please don’t go. I have one more piece of paperwork for you to sign. This is the form accepting the guardianship trust Galleons that was set up for Mr. Harry Potter by his parents.”
“What? We don’t need any Galleons to be Harry’s guardians. We don’t need it and won’t take it!” Mrs. Weasley said forcefully.
“But ma’am, you already signed the guardianship papers, this has to go with it,” squeaked Grorn.
“NO!” she yelled. “Give them to Harry!”
“MOLLY!” Professor McGonagall said sternly. “Calm down! The Galleons are already there, Sirius and Dumbledore never used any of it, and of course his Aunt and Uncle never knew about it. The Galleons belong to you.”
Before Mrs. Weasley could say anything, Harry rose and walked over to her and grabbed her arms and looked her in the eyes. “Mum, please take the Galleons, I don’t need them. There are not enough Galleons in the world for everything you and your family have done for me. Mum, there is no price that I can repay YOU, for all those times when I needed a mother’s hug, TO HER SON, to take away all the hurt. YOU helped me so many times, please let me help you.” Then Harry gave her one of those hugs that only a son can give his mother.
Harry felt Mrs. Weasley snob and heard a sniffle, opening his eyes he saw he was looking at Mr. Weasley. With a grin and a sniffle, he choked, “Harry, we will take the Galleons.”
“Please sign this form now,” Grorn piped. Concluding that business, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat down.
“Before Grorn continues with the rest of his business, we have some pleasant and some unpleasant items dealing with Dobby and Winky,” Professor McGonagall pronounced. Harry looked at them and couldn’t remember Dobby looking so scared.
“Dobby and Winky came to me yesterday and told me about their problem. Dumbledore had a plan to fix it, but he died before…anyway, his death also created another problem. The first problem is this, Dobby and Winky were employed by Dumbledore personally, not by Hogwarts. I tried to get the Hogwarts Governors to hire them but they refused. However, I have a better solution.”
“Dobby…Winky, how would you like to work for Harry?”
Dobby blinked, a little life coming back into his eyes. “Yes, Ms Headmistress McGonagall, Dobby would love to work for Harry Potter.”
“Winky?”
“Yes, Ms Headmistress McGonagall, Winky will work for Harry Potter too.”
Harry looked at Winky and wondered if she was hitting the butterbeer again. “But Professor, I don’t have any place for them to work.”
Professor McGonagall grinned, “Please, Harry, all of you, for the holidays I’m Minerva, but Professor McGonagall when term starts, okay!” Everyone smiled and nodded.
Minerva took a deep breath; she looked like she was holding back some tears again. ”Normally that would be a problem, Harry. Sirius and some other friends decided to rebuild Godric’s Hollow for you as a graduation present. After Sirius died, Dumbledore was continuing to rebuild your home. Normally, this process would have been done in weeks instead of years, but Sirius wanted to improve your home.”
“Why? Wasn’t it good enough before?” he barely spoke. The pain of losing Sirius was again coming back. Why? Why was he doing that? Shockingly, he knew. Sirius wanted to do it because he loved him, loved James and Lily and wanted to bring some happiness to Harry. Dumbledore’s words came back to him, ‘Harry, Voldemort couldn’t stand to be touch because of the love in your heart. That was how you were able to stop him.’ Love, it was the power that saved him as a baby, protected him at his aunt’s and all the rest, it all came down to love.
“Harry…HARRY!” Ginny touched his arm and then pulled away.
“Sorry, Pro…Minerva, I was lost in thought,” Harry admitted.
“Harry, he wanted to improve the house, well...frankly, if all the members of your new family showed up at once, you wouldn’t have the necessary rooms. So, Sirius, Dumbledore, and your friends have been improving it; making it always have the right number of bedrooms, baths, the best wards, new security charms, and hexes. Everything! Harry, would you like for Dobby and Winky to come work for you?” quizzed Minerva.
“Yes, that would be great, Minerva, with some conditions. Dobby…Winky, how would five Galleons a week and weekends off sound?” Harry asked.
Dobby and Winky both piped, “No, Harry Potter sir, too much.”
“Okay then, ten Galleons a week and weekends and holidays off and this is my finale offer.” Both finally agreed.
“Molly, would you care to let them live at the Burrow until they can move in with Harry?” Minerva asked Molly.
“Why yes, we would love to have them,” Mrs. Weasley said.
“That solves that problem. On to the next, Dobby and Winky have mated and are having a baby.” Ginny and Hermione both yelled and rushed over to Winky and hugged her and pretty soon all the girls were sniffing. Harry and Ron walked over to Dobby and shook his hand and offered his congratulations.
Minerva shooed everyone back into their seats and announced that there was a problem with this. She went on to explain that house elves only mated once every five years and that a child can be born at any time within the next five years. Dobby and Winky still belong to their past masters at the time of the mating, so the child is owned jointly by the two past masters.
Hermione jumped up and was just about to explode when Minerva cut her off and told her to sit down. “Hermione, by our laws and house elf laws in force today, this is the way it is. Maybe someday it will change but right now, this is how it is.” Harry snickered. Harry guessed that Minerva knew all about S.P.E.W.
Minerva, calming down some, went on to explain that in the past when situations like this happen, one of the masters simply bought the other half of the child. Since both Dobby and Winky are free, they have no master, and they don’t have the Galleons to buy the child.
First Hermione, then Harry, then Ginny, and finally, Ron, got horror stricken looks on their faces. Hermione spoke what everyone else was thinking, “Winky’s baby is going to the Malfoy’s?”
“Thankfully…NO, it isn’t. When I sent the owl to the Malfoy’s, I was informed that they have no Galleons to purchase the baby but did wish for their half of the sell price. The Crouch’s estate was divided between so many relatives, that no single household could get the Galleons needed. So what I have done is purchase the baby out of the Galleons in the guardianship trust that Molly and Arthur just accepted,” Minerva relayed to the group.
“Molly…Arthur, what I like you to do is authorized this purchase and then sell the baby back to Dobby and Winky.”
“Oh Merlin, yes, by all means,” Mrs. Weasley said heartily.
Dobby and Winky both were like statues, finally a tear dropped from Winky’s eye and she felled to the floor crying. Thru her snobs, they were able to hear her saying, “Masters are too good for Winky.” Both Ginny and Hermione went to comfort her.
Mrs. Weasley walked over the desk and started to sign the purchase when she choked out, “Fifty Thousand Galleons! How is Dobby and Winky going to be able to pay that much? Merlin, how are WE going to pay that much?”
“Dobby and Winky will only be paying one Galleons for their baby,” reveal Minerva. She went on, “Do you know, this will be the first house elf baby born free in a very long, long time. As for you Molly, there are plenty of Galleons for that amount.”
“How many Galleons are there?” Mrs. Weasley stuttered.
Grorn spoke up, “After you sign that purchase, there will be four million, nine hundred fifty thousand Galleons.” Molly fainted. A few minutes later, she shakily signed the purchase and then took one Galleon from Dobby for his child. After everyone had calmed down again, Grorn told Minerva that the Galleons would be transferred today.
“What’s wrong, Harry?” Hermione asked.
Harry looked up, “I am just furious we have to give Galleons to the Malfoy’s.” Then a shy grin came over his face, “The Malfoy’s couldn’t purchase the baby, they have no Galleons! I can’t wait to see Draco’s face when I mention this!” They all laughed and Minerva was even seen to crack a smile.
Once again Grorn spoke, this time very formally. “Mr. Harry James Potter, is there anyone in this room that you feel is not loyal to you, is not a true and honest friend, and who you do not wish to know some very personal information about you?”
”What is this all about,” Harry thought. Grorn was keeping an intense eye contact with Harry. “No.”
“Once again, Mr. Harry James Potter, is there anyone in this room that you feel is not loyal to you, is not a true and honest friend, and who you do not wish to know some very personal information about you?”
“NO!”
Grorn then got out of his seat and approached Hermione, touching a long thin finger to her forehead, he said, “Please do not move.” Then he went to Ron, completing the same procedure. Finally, everyone but Harry had been touch by Grorn.
Grorn began very seriously, “What I’m about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone but the people and beings in this room. What I meant, is that you will NOT be able to repeat this information to anyone, anyone but those in this room. The charm I just performed on you was a little bit of goblin magic, something like the ‘secret keeper charm’ you wizards use,” he reported. “I must warn you, that if anyone tries to reveal this information, you will lose your mind. Mr. Potter, if you wish to tell anyone else this information, or you and your friends do not want to know this information, you and they must come to the Gringotts and I will perform the charm or counter-charm.”
Grorn continued, “Mr. Potter, many, many years ago, even before Hogwarts, two beings were partners in business together. One of your ancestors, a Sir Luke Francis Potter and a Goblin by the name Gringotts owned a general store. They were known far and wide as honest and trustworthily and conducted their business the same. They were quite successful. Years later, a war broke out between the Goblins and Wizards. After the war, these two partners were the only ones that Goblins and Wizards would trust to conduct business between the two,” continued Grorn. “Because of this, they naturally, slowly changed from a general store business to a banking business. This partnership is still active today,” Grorn ended suddenly.
No one said a thing. Harry could even hear one of the portrait gasp in shock. “Ah…well…What does this mean?”
“Mr. Harry Potter, it means that you are part owner of Gringotts Bank,” Grorn said matter of fact.
Harry thought he heard Molly faint again. “How many…I…huh… mean…How much do I own?”
“This partnership was and still is, equal,” Grorn said matter of fact again.
“How many Galleons is that?” Harry sputtered.
Grorn almost grinned, “Well, Mr. Potter, please inform us a few days in advance if you decide to buy the country of Wales.”
“What am I going to do with all that Galleons?” Harry said to no one in particular. He looked at Ginny and realized Ginny was almost in shock. “Ginny, honey, what’s wrong?” Ginny turned to Harry and slowly focused on him.
“Harry, please remember that I loved you before I found out you owned the world,” she said still trying to digest what she just heard. Grorn actually smiled at this statement.
Mr. Weasley must had revived Mrs. Weasley cause she yelped, “Ginny, what did you say? Did I hear you correctly?”
“Mum, later.”
Even after all he said to her in the last couple of days, the cold shoulders and his refusal to acknowledge his feelings for her, she still loved him. Harry slowly reached over and placed his hand in hers and looked her in the eyes. ”I AM doing the right thing now,” he thought. She looked him in the eye and asked with her eyes, not saying a word, “Are you sure, Harry?” Nodding his head very slowly, he leaned towards her and kissed her.
Sometime in the distant future, they broke apart when Mrs. Weasley proclaim, “Arthur, she loves him and he loves her, oh my, this is the happiest day.”
Grorn then spoke again, “Mr. Potter, I am so glad to hear that, because to keep this contract valid, you sir, must produce a male heir.”
Hermione angrily stated, “Why does it have to be a male heir? Why can’t it be a female heir?”
Harry and Ginny were still focused on each other so intensely that it took a few moments for what Grorn said to reach their brains. Almost as one, they blushed so hard that the temperature in the room went up several degrees. “Why can’t it be a female?” he asked.
“Mr. Potter the contract is written that way. I have the original contract right here. You can read it yourself,” Grorn moaned.
“Okay, okay,” Harry said still looking at Ginny.
Ginny smiled. “We will talk about this heir business later,” she softly said to him alone.
Grorn, almost whimpering, said, “Mr. Potter, this is the same contract that Sir Potter signed and every other male heir since. You can see their signatures right here.”
“Grorn, why wasn’t I informed of this before now and will it be legal since I am not legal age yet?” Harry inquired.
Grorn seemed to relax a little and stated almost in his normal voice, “Mr. Potter, Dumbledore felt it was in your best interest not knowing about this. Also, the contract is a combination of Goblin and Wizard laws. As you can see, Mr. David Potter was only five when he signed. The contract is between you and the Goblins who work at Gringotts. It is no concern for anyone else.”
“Okay, I will sign.” Harry stood and walked to the desk and using the same eagle quill, signed the contract right below his father’s signature.
“Mr. Potter, please, I only wanted to express my concerns that this partnership continues far into the future. We Goblins never want this contract to end.” Grorn stated.
After the signing of the contract, Grorn carefully placed the document in his bag. Searching in his bag, he pulled a box out that was made of the finest Goblin silver Harry had ever seen.
“Mr. Potter, one last thing, this belonged to Sir Potter’s wife, Nancy, and has been passed down ever since. Your mother, like most of the other female Potters, did not want to lose it, so it is normally kept at the Gringotts,” Grorn proclaimed.
Handing him the box, Harry slowly opened the box to reveal a ring. Not just a ring, but a RING. The diamond was the size of a walnut with an ever changing sparkle to it. The diamond was surrounded by slightly smaller stones that represented each month of the year. All this was set in the best goblin gold Harry had ever seen. After taking in the beauty of the RING, Harry looked at Grorn, confused. Finally realizing what it was, he grinned from ear to ear.
“Harry, what are smiling about?” Ginny requested.
Harry walked over to her, bent to one knee, “Ginevra Weasley, will you marry me?” The silence these words brought was even worst than before. “I Love You, Ginny. Please accept this ring as a symbol of my love for you.”
Not even looking at the ring, Ginny choked out, “Yes.”
Harry quickly kissed her and started to put the ring on her finger. “HARRY, I can’t wear that, it’s huge!” Ginny screamed.
“But my mother wore it, all the Mrs. Potters have, and I want you to wear it,” Harry stated.
“Please put the ring on her finger, Mr. Potter,” said Grorn. When Harry finished putting the ring on, Ginny’s face went blank and the ring glowed brightly for just a few seconds. Ginny quickly regained her focus while Grorn clapped his hands.
Harry turned to Grorn and saying sternly, “What was that about?”
Grorn pleaded, “Mr. Potter, it’s not my doing, the ring performs a charm to check the wearer’s true heart’s desire. This was Sir Potter’s idea, not Gringotts. He wanted to protect…to keep…uh, well, unloving ladies from getting to the fortune,” finishing rapidly. “Mr. Potter, let me say that no future Mrs. Potter has ever failed this test. The Potters have always picked extremely great ladies.”
“What is to keep you from the fortune?” Harry said tartly.
“Mr. Potter, Gringotts only hires Goblins who are descendants of Gringotts.”
Grorn reached over to Harry, handing him another box. This box contained a much smaller version of the RING. “Ms Weasley, this ring is much smaller and is the actual ring worn day to day. The larger ring is usually only worn on your wedding day and other special days.”
Looking at the smaller ring, Ginny smiled, “This one will do fine.” Harry removed the RING, handing it to Grorn. Harry then put the smaller ring on her finger. Once fully on, Ginny screamed again, “I thought you said it is smaller?”
Grorn smiled, “Ms Weasley, this ring in enchanted, as long as that ring is on your finger, you will only see the bigger one, while everyone else sees the smaller.”
Grorn packed his bag and started to leave. Harry called out, “How do I contact you? Do I have to come to Gringotts to work or what?”
Grorn smiled once again, “Just go to Gringotts and ask for me, Gringotts. The contract applies both ways, Mr. Potter. I am the senior male descendant of Gringotts. The term Gringotts has come to mean the senior goblin in charge. No Mr. Potter, you don’t have to work at Gringotts. The Potters have come to trust the goblins to run the business end of Gringotts.”
Ron who had been silent through all this finally spoke, “Hey Mate, can I borrow a few Galleons?”
“Sure,” Harry said smiling.
“How many Galleons do you want to loan him, Mr. Potter?” said Grorn.
“I don’t know, how about a few thousands,” Harry joked.
“Okay,” Grorn stated.
“Can I really do that?” Harry said with raised eyebrows.
“Yes,” Grorn said matter of fact, again!
Thinking, Harry looked at Grorn and directed, “Grorn, please arrange for all of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s sons and daughter, if they do not already have one, to get a vault, and put in each vault a gift, not a loan, of 10,000 Galleons. Please make the same arrangements for Hermione. Please send their keys to them. To Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred, and George, please sent a note stating how happy I am to have them as my family.”
“It will be done by the end of the day, Mr. Potter.” Grorn bowed and walked out of the office.
Mrs. Weasley, grabbed Harry, hugged him again, and then flatly stated he should not have done that.
Harry smiled, “Yes, Mum, I did. Besides, it will eventually end up back at Gringotts; which I own half, remember.” Mrs. Weasley’s stern looks soften and she smiled.
Mr. Weasley looked puzzled and said to the room in general, “You know, I think that is the first time I ever saw a Goblin smile, and he did it twice!”
Harry looked around and heard Ron mumble, “I only wanted enough to buy Hermione a ring.”
Shocked as everyone else, Harry looked at Hermione and asked, “What is he talking about?”
Hermione blushed, “Well, remember when we went for at walk last night? Well, he asked me to marry him. I said ‘yes’.” Hermione eyes narrowed and then she said, “And what do you mean by that, asking Ginny out of the blue like that, in front of all these people?”
Mrs. Weasley shrieked, “Both my babies are engaged, oh, I’m so happy!” Molly rushed over to Hermione and gave her a huge hug.
Harry exclaimed, “Hermione, how can you call my friends and family ‘people’? I love everyone in this room. Besides, it felt right.”
Harry smiled, “Hermione, everyone please sit down.” Once everyone was settled down, Harry continued, “Ginny, the conversation we had after the funeral has been heavily on my mind. I spend most of that night and morning walking around and thinking. I even met up with Firenze and um…,” Harry paused, even he didn’t think it was a good time to bring up the second conversation he had. “I told him all about my fears and the situation I was in. All he would say is that ‘the stars always balance out eventually’. I started questioning my decision about returning to Hogwarts, and the coming battle. Something kept popping up in my mind, but I couldn’t focus on it until we came here today. Something Dumbledore told me a long time ago finally smacked me in the head. He said my greatest weapon against Voldemort is my ability to Love. I finally realized that I was losing that weapon by my decision to distance myself from you, Ginny, my family, and friends. Most importantly, I was abandoning the love my parents gave me, the love Sirius had for me, and Dumbledore’s love.” Harry looked around.
Ginny was the first to rise, walking slowly over to Harry. She reached her arms up and around his neck and kissed him.
“Hem, Hem.”
Slowly Ginny pulled away, “I love you, Harry.”
“I love you, Ginny. Please box me up side the head if I try to push you away again.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Not only will I do it, but you now have six brothers to do it too!” Ginny stated seriously.
Then it was everyone else turn to hug and express their love for each other. When Mrs. Weasley took her turn, she first grabbed his arms tightly, “Don’t you ever hurt my baby, Mr. Potter.”
“Of course not, Mum, how can I hurt my own heart.” Mr. Weasley shook his hand and then hugged him.
Ginny and Hermione were hugging and crying all over each other, when Ginny broke apart. “Oh my, we could have a double ceremony!”
“Yes, that would be great. How about a triple, with Bill and Fleur,” Hermione suggested.
“No, Ginny you are too young,” Mrs. Weasley proclaimed.
“Mum, I will be sixteen later this summer, with your permission I can get married, and I AM getting married this summer,” declared Ginny.
“We’ll talk about it later, baby,” Mrs. Weasley ordered.
“No. You know, it has always been Harry that has had no choices in a lot of things, always being told he has to do this or that. This TIME, it is you, Mum. We are getting married this summer,” Ginny commanded.
Startled, everyone looked around for the strange noise that suddenly sounded in the room. Finally, everyone noticed the strange sound was coming from Professor McGonagall who was chuckling. “I just remember a girl that came to me one night, scared out of wits. She stated she had done something and didn’t know what to do. I finally got the full story out of her…”
“Stop,” cried Mrs. Weasley, “Minerva, please stop.”
“No, I think I will tell this story. Anyway, this girl had eloped with her beau and was scared. Finally, after calming her down, we sent owls off to the parents. Eventually everything turned out fine. So Molly…how old was you?”
For the third time that day, the silent was thick enough to cut with a knife. Mrs. Weasley was looking at her hands clasped in her lap. Eventually, she glanced up, “I was fifteen, as you well know.”
Ginny was the first to response, of course, “Then there is no need to talk about this anymore. Mum, you knew Dad was right for you, and I know Harry is right for me.”
Mrs. Weasley trying to gain control of the situation commanded, “Okay Ginny, but you’re living in separate dorms.”
“Molly!” This time it was Mr. Weasley who had spoken. “Are you seriously telling me that you don’t remember our wedding night? Or our living arrangements from that point on.”
Mr. Weasley turned to Professor McGonagall, “Minerva, can the same arrangement still be made?”
“Yes, Arthur, but this time I think I will have a suite, two bedrooms, two bathrooms with a small common area. It will be ready when the term starts,” Professor McGonagall informed the group.
Ginny walked over and hugged her Mum. Harry went over and joined them.
Once again, Minerva got everyone settled down in their seats. “Molly…Arthur, would you like to stay the night?” asked Minerva.
Mrs. Weasley stated, “No, Minerva, I think we will take Dobby and Winky to the Burrow and get them settled in.”
“Right, then let’s be back here tomorrow at one o’clock. Also, please do not leave the castle grounds, you four.”
When she was finally alone, Minerva turned to Dumbledore’s portrait. “Well, he took that well enough. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to him, Albus?”
“Yes, Minerva,” said Dumbledore’s portrait. “I really think he needs to learn to count on his friends at this point in his development. I am greatly surprised at his change in direction about his love for everyone. I really didn’t expect that.”
“Oh, Albus, why is that?”
“I just didn’t plan on it, just shows he can even surprise me,” Dumbledore explained. “Have you talked to my brother, Minerva?” Dumbledore asked.
“Yes, I did. He will be glad to teach them,” Minerva advised him.
“Good. Goodnight, Minerva.”
“Goodnight, Albus.”
A/N Chapter 2 Gifts
Harry and The Love by rockeye
Chapter Notes: 8/6/2006 All chapters have been updated. "Death Eaters End" should be posted soon.
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