Harry tells the Weasleys about his family history and how they came to be so affluent. This chapter will take a serious turn into the AU category.
I would like to thank my Beta, Leif, for doing a fantastic job with my constant errors.
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Love Enough for Both | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All Genres: General Warnings: Death, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 356 Summary: Harry heard a goblin speaking and he came out of temporary stupor. He was surrounded by witches and wizards all staring at him. The most shocking thing was he had his arms around someone. Who was she and how did they get here? Hitcount: Story Total: 215194; Chapter Total: 7501 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: |
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Harry walked out of his bedroom and looked down from the second floor balcony at Sirius sitting by the fountain reading a large tome and sipping on his morning coffee. Sirius had taken to the local style of coffee which was rather strong and he rarely drank tea anymore. The only time he seemed to drink tea was when he returned to Britain. After spending the past few weeks in England, Harry noticed how different he and Ginny were from the traditional English wizards and witches. The English wore full length robes, while they wore hooded dragon-hide capes with trousers and long sleeve shirts. He had a set of robes he purchased that day in Diagon Alley, but he never got a chance to try them on. He bonded with Ginny and his physical size changed so radically that they would never fit him. He didn’t think he would like to wear robes because they seem too bulky and cumbersome. He wondered if the English looked at him and thought he looked weird. Harry made his way down to his godfather. He wondered what type of a night Remus had as it had been a full moon last night. The latest bout of lycanthropy had hit Remus particularly hard. He hadn’t been feeling good for the past two days. Yesterday, he was particularly moody and was experiencing severe body aches. Hopefully this would mean that next month it will be easier on him. Harry walked up on Sirius without him noticing. “Good Morning Padfoot,” he said loudly. Sirius jumped at the sound of his voice, but it quickly turned into a smile. “You enjoyed surprising me. Didn’t you?” “I find the look on your face was worth it.” “You are so much like your father,” smiled Sirius. “How was Remus’ night?” Harry asked, while pouring himself a small cup of the strong coffee before sitting at the table. Sirius seemed to physically sag. “We need to perfect Wolfsbane, so we can help him. I hate seeing him suffering like he does. Those transformations are hell on him,” stated Sirius unnecessarily. “I know,” replied Harry. “I am trying to brew it to perfection, but we are always a bit off.” “I keep looking at this book on the Wolfsbane Potion, but Damocles Belby can be rather vague when describing his exact method of brewing the ruddy stuff.” Sirius closed the book with a huff. “Has Belby published anything else relating to Potions?” asked Harry. “If he had, it might give us a clue on what we are doing wrong.” Sirius looked at him before breaking out in a large smile. “At times you are as brilliant as your mother and father when you say things like that.” Harry blushed slightly at his godfather’s praise. He always enjoyed being compared to his parents. From everything he has been told, his parents had both been excellent students. He wished right now he had his mother’s natural ability to brew Potions better than anyone in her year. Wolfsbane would help Remus with the effects of the full moon and help with the painful transformation. He often felt inadequate for not being able to brew it properly. “I guess you know what your next Potions assignment will be,” said Sirius with a smile. “Will that be instead of my preparation for my NEWTs or in addition to them?” asked Harry. “Rather cheeky talking to your professor that way,” laughed Sirius. “That will be in addition to your NEWT studies.” “NEWT studies?” asked Molly Weasley. “Are you really studying for your NEWTs?” Molly Weasley had approached them silently. For a large woman she was able to move about rather gracefully and silently. “We have them studying sixth and seventh year subjects already,” said Sirius proudly. “You must do nothing but study all day long,” she said. She looked a little concerned. “Don’t you ever get a chance to just relax and enjoy life?” “If I don’t learn enough, I won’t be alive to enjoy life for very long,” replied Harry. It was true, but he must have said it too harshly, because Mrs. Weasley became rather teary-eyed. “Enough talk like that, you are young and just married. You shouldn’t be concerned about fighting dark wizards. You should be thinking about a career, starting a family, and finding a place for your home.” Her comment made Harry realize that those should be the most important things in his life. Not trying to stay alive long enough to start a family, or having everyone he cared about getting killed. He wanted to tell her that that life wasn’t possible for him, but he kept silent. “What do you want for breakfast?” asked Mrs. Weasley. “If we are going to Egypt, we need to eat something light. The traditional English fry-up will make us sick to the stomach,” said Sirius. “Oh nonsense, everyone needs a good breakfast,” protested Molly. She looked around at the doors leading into the villa. “Is that door the one to the kitchen?” “Yes, it is,” answered Harry. “I’ll be back in a flash,” she said, as she walked towards the kitchen. Harry sat there and stared at her. Without a doubt Ginny got her stubborn streak from her mother. He wondered if that was where Ginny also got her desire to have a family so soon. He wanted children, but he wanted to defeat Voldemort first. Ginny’s desire to start a family made him wonder if she thought he wasn’t going to be able to defeat Voldemort. Ever since they discovered about Horcruxes and how that could be the reason Voldemort was still alive, they planned on destroying them before Voldemort regained his body. Harry would then never need to face off against Voldemort in mortal combat. Ginny must not believe that is possible anymore. “Hey, little Prongs, what are you so concerned about?” asked Sirius. “Nothing, nothing at all,” replied Harry. “Yeah, you really convinced me,” said Sirius sardonically. “Ginny, she wants to start a family right now,” he whispered to his godfather. Sirius threw his head back and let out a loud barking laugh. “Everyone in the villa knew you two had done the deed on your honeymoon night.” Harry felt his face become extremely warm. “How — how did you know?” “You two shook the entire villa, mate,” laughed Sirius with an exaggerated wink. Harry became even more embarrassed. “So-sorry, I didn’t realize.” “You remember that as you and Ginny strengthen your bond, you emit magical energy. That was what shook the villa. Didn’t you notice the torch sconces?” Harry looked at his godfather strangely. He looked at the sconces around the interior of the villa. They all looked in good shape. “I don’t see anything wrong with them.” “Look around them. All the walls and ceilings are charred. They are Charmed to burn, but because it was an active spell you and Ginny’s actions increased the power of the Charm. They all flared up and charred the surrounding walls.” Harry stared at the sconces. Sirius was right. There was a blackened area of wall around all the sconces. “I wonder what else we disturbed?” he whispered under his breath. “Nothing that you need to worry about, mate,” reassured Sirius. “Why are you so concerned about starting a family with Ginny?” “I am not concerned about starting a family as much as I am concerned about why she wants a family right now. I almost get the feeling that she doesn’t think I will win. She asked her parents to care for our children if we died. Why would she do all that if she thought I was going to come out of this victorious?” “Her entire family was nearly wiped out two days ago. Give her time to reflect on the near deaths in her own way. Give her time to grow, Harry. She is still only eleven.” “Yeah, a very fit eleven year old,” Harry whispered into his coffee cup. “What was that?” asked Sirius. “Yes, what was that thought, dear?” asked Ginny from the balcony. Harry blushed partly because of his thoughts about Ginny and also that she heard those thoughts. In many ways, he hated how she could do that. To keep her from knowing his thoughts he had to keep his Occlumency shields up at all times. “Good morning Father,” shouted Ginny across the open courtyard. “Good morning to you, and how is Mrs. Potter this morning?” he asked cheerfully, as he closed the door to his bedroom. “I am wonderful,” responded Ginny. “Good morning Percy.” Percy had emerged from his bedroom two doors from Arthur and Molly. “Percy, please get the rest of your brothers up, I think I smell Molly cooking breakfast,” said Arthur. Percy was standing directly above the door leading the dining room and kitchens. He took an exaggerated inhale and smiled. “I believe Mum is. I will try to get them up, Father.” While all this was happening Ginny had descended the stairs and had reached Harry. She bent down and gave him a warm kiss. “So you think I am rather fit, do you,” she whispered to him as she broke the kiss. Harry was left blushing again. Sirius broke out in a loud barking laugh at his embarrassment. Ginny had poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down beside Harry. She placed her hand on his knee and stared into his eyes. She had such loving brown eyes and Harry was getting lost in them. A crash of falling metal and breaking plates was heard from the dining room area. “Molly,” shouted Arthur. “I am fine,” she said appearing from the dining room. “My Levitation spell went a little wonky.” She disappeared back into the dining room. Harry and Ginny stared at each other for a second, before putting space between them. “Mr. Black,” said Arthur addressing Sirius. “Oh please don’t call me Mr. Black. It is either Sirius or Padfoot, but never Mr. Black.” “Very well, Sirius, I would like to thank you for paying off my bill for the rental. I will repay you as soon as I get the money saved up, or do you want regular payments?” Sirius looked confused for a minute, before responding. “Arthur, I am Harry’s godfather. Part of the expense of the wedding should have been mine. So I will not accept any payments from you. It is what family does for each other.” Sirius had stood up and extended his hand to Arthur. Both men shook hands. Arthur looked a little emotional about what Sirius said. “Well I must go and see if Molly needs any help.” Sirius watched Arthur walk away, before turning and staring at Harry. He sat down and whispered. “I think someone has been hitting the Polyjuice without permission.” “I couldn’t let him pay for that marquee and the chairs,” responded Harry. “What, how did you do that?” asked a shocked Ginny. “Why didn’t I know about it?” “I left early yesterday morning while everyone was asleep. I used Occlumency shields on my thoughts.” Sirius looked like he was going to change into Padfoot and bite Harry. “Don’t do that again,” he hissed. “It was extremely dangerous. No one knew where you were and if you would have been caught, we weren’t there to save your sorry arse.” “I went out as you,” pleaded Harry. “Exactly! Don’t you think they would have wanted to capture me to find out where you were?” Harry had never even thought about that. All he remembered was the dejected look on Arthur and Molly’s face as the marquee burnt to the ground. He knew they had spent nearly all their savings on the wedding. “I was only trying to help. I wasn’t sure how he was going to explain how everything was burnt down. So I went to the place and paid it all off and gave them a plausible story.” Harry looked at Ginny for support but she looked even angrier than Sirius. “If you wanted to do that, you could have sent Sirius. You didn’t have to sneak around and do it yourself,” she snapped at him. “I wasn’t sure he would agree to the story,” said Harry defeated. “What did you tell the rental people?” asked Sirius. Harry stared at Sirius and then Ginny. He looked for a supportive face, but only thing he saw was anger. He took a deep breath. “I told the bloke at the store that you drank too much Firewhiskey and burnt the marquee down when you tried shooting fireworks out of your wand,” he said dejectedly. Sirius’s eyes twinkled with mischief and the corner of his mouth twitched but the frown remained. “He believed you?” “Yeah, he didn’t even question it,” said Harry. Sirius placed his hand over his mouth for a second, before he pointed at Harry. “Don’t do it again.” “Yes, I second that opinion you prat,” added Ginny. Harry looked between them waiting to see if they were done chastising him. Ginny was staring at her coffee and Sirius was looking everywhere, but at Harry. Up on the balcony, the Weasley boys were all appearing from their rooms. They looked as if they would prefer to remain in bed. They were bleary-eyed and still pulling their robes on and straightening them. Molly stepped out of the dining room doors. “Come along boys, breakfast is ready. You too Ginny,” she said smiling at her. There was a thundering of feet as the previously groggy boys all came awake and raced to the dining room. “Well let’s get some nosh,” said Sirius. “I am glad I found out what I did at the reception. It would have been quite a surprise when everyone took the mickey out of me.” Harry laughed and stood up and helped Ginny out of her chair. “I am still angry with you,” she told him. Harry fake bowed to her before following her to the dining room. Sirius seemed to find his bow amusing, and put an arm around Harry’s shoulders as they walked. The dining room was loud and noisy. All the Weasleys were in there and had started to eat. They all greeted the three of them between bites of food and grabbing food off the serving platters. Ginny, Sirius, and Harry all sat together by Mr. Weasley. Harry stared at the food. It was all heavy food that might make everyone sick if they got out in the heat. He took a couple pieces of toast and some eggs. He looked around and Ron was stuffing his face with sausage, bacon, and eggs. “Harry, I would like to Owl the Ministry and tell them that I need to take some time off,” said Mr. Weasley. “How would I do that, and how long should I ask for?” “Do you have to work today?” asked Bill. “I was scheduled to work, so I need to send an Owl soon.” Harry was caught off guard by the question. It was something that he had never considered. “Why don’t you take my parents to the vault, and Dad can Owl the Ministry from there,” suggested Bill. Harry thought about the suggestion. He was going to try to explain his family history to the Weasleys. It might be a good thing to go to the vault today. “Sure, we can go to the vault. I can show you my family history stored there,” said Harry. “Which vault is that dear?” asked Molly. “The one in Gringotts,” said Ginny. “That huge one we saw when we came here?” asked Ron. “Can we come too?” The noisy room became silent as everyone stared at Harry and Ginny. He didn’t know what to do. He looked at Ginny who was staring back at him. “What do you think, love,” he asked his wife. She looked at him, but he could tell she was thinking and trying to sense what everyone would feel and do. She turned to look at everyone. “You can go, but you must promise not to tell anyone about what you see in there,” she demanded of her family. “What is in there?” asked Arthur. “Nothing bad, actually it is all very impressive,” interjected Bill. “It would be best if all you ever said about it was it was large, filled with treasures, and family artifacts.” “Nothing dark and dangerous?” asked Molly. “No nothing like that, it is mostly things that have been kept secret for generations. I would like it to be kept secret,” said Harry. “Charlie, can you keep the Potters’ secrets,” Arthur asked his second oldest. “Sure,” said Charlie. “Who would I tell my dragons?” “Percy?” “Yes, Father, I promise.” “Fred and George?” “Why do you always ask him first?” “Because, I am a natural leader and better looking.” “Not bloody likely…,” “Boys,” shouted Molly. “Yes, we promise,” they said in unison. “Ron?” “Yeah, what would be so important in there anyway? The vault is practically impossible to get to. It isn’t like anyone would ever be able to get into it,” grumbled Ron. “Molly and I will keep your secrets,” Arthur said to them. [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] Everyone stepped out of the vault used for transportation into the chamber with Gringotts' and Potter’s vaults. The six guard goblins turned to look at them. They acknowledged Harry and company before turning away again. Ginny walked over to the guard goblins, and handed the nearest one her father’s letter. “Please have this sent to the Ministry,” she said politely to one of them. The Goblin walked to the metal door separating the vaults from the rest of the cavern. He opened the door and handed a goblin on the outside the owl post and repeated the instructions in Gobbledygook. After the Owl was sent, Harry turned to the door of his vault. He placed his hand on the door's surface. Nothing happened for several seconds, and then it shifted with a grinding noise, before sliding upwards exposing the contents. “The records and family history is over here,” Harry said over his shoulder, as he walked to the right side of the vault. “You can go in,” said Ginny. Harry turned when he heard Ginny speaking. Her entire family except for Bill was standing and staring open mouthed at the vault. They were evidently overwhelmed at the sight of his family’s fortune. He remembered how shocked he was, so he decided to wait patiently for them to get over their shock. Ginny and Bill were smiling at their family. There was a sound of a bell and a pile of galleons appeared in the vault. It was probably three or four hundred galleons in the stack. It appeared on the top of what looked to be a golden wall almost five feet high six feet deep and twenty to thirty feet long, and it was made out of galleons. Harry had a hard time remembering the timing of payments from the people leasing the land and buildings he now owned. “There must be five hundred Galleons in that stack,” said Mr. Weasley in awe. “Three hundred and forty-five,” Bill said reading a scroll that came out of one wooden box and dropped down the wall and wound itself into a second wooden box. “This is the ledger for all deposits and withdrawals from this vault.” He smiled at Harry. “I forgot you owned that building. Rather ironic, I think.” “What are you talking about?,” asked Harry. He was clueless what building Bill was referring to. “Why you own the building that houses the Magical Wedding Supply and Rental Company,” Bill said with a laugh. “You own property in Diagon Alley?” asked Fred or George. Harry wasn’t sure he could tell them apart. The only time he knew which one was which was when one of the Weasleys called their names. There were a couple of times he thought the wrong one answered, but he wasn’t going to say anything. “He owns Diagon Alley,” answered Bill. “Why do you think Gringotts was there? The Potters own the land Diagon Alley was built on and half the buildings built on it.” “You can give us a shop for our seventeenth birthday,” begged one of the twins. “We have so many plans to improve the joke industry,” said the other. “All we need is a store front and we could put Zonkos out of business in a year,” they said together. “Why would he agree to that,” laughed Sirius. “The Potter family owns Zonkos and the building it is in.” The twins snapped their heads around from looking at Sirius to staring at Harry. “Your family owns Zonkos?” they almost shouted. Harry shrugged his shoulders. It was strange to know that he had so much wealth, and yet the first eleven years of his life he lived being treated like a beggar. “Mum, Dad do you want to see my family history?” He called his in-laws Mum and Dad by Ginny’s request. She knew they would appreciate being called that. She was right. Both her parents beamed proudly at him. “Of course son,” gushed Molly. “Can I listen too?” asked Percy. “Yeah, I would like to hear where your family obtained all this wealth,” said Charlie. “Charlie, be polite,” admonished Molly. “I am, but Mum. There more galleons in this one vault than probably in three-quarters of the vaults in Gringotts bank combined. How does one come by so much wealth?” Another bell rang and a pile of galleons appeared on the wall of galleons. It was larger than the first pile that had appeared. “Harry just made more money in the last two minutes, than Dad makes in a year,” said Charlie shaking his head. “Charlie, enough,” demanded Mr. Weasley. “Harry, I apologize for my son.” “No need to do that, Dad. I didn’t bring you here to make you feel bad or anything. This is where we keep the records of my family.” Arthur looked at him and placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I know you didn’t. I knew you were wealthy. I had no idea how wealthy. Harry, I never felt judged by you. So many wealthy families look down on me and my family because we don’t have much, but I never felt that coming from you. “Now, I would like to hear about your family history. I have always known of the Potter family, but not a lot of details.” “We will stay here with Ronnie-kins,” shouted Fred or George. “We will make sure that no one steals from your vault. That goblin out there on the end looks rather shifty.” “Don’t you three touch anything,” shouted Molly. Harry smiled as Ginny activated a security Charm. It was a subtle wand movement, but the Charm would prove hilarious if the twins and Ron tried anything. “Follow me and don’t touch anything even by accident,” said Harry. “Why?” asked Percy. “Security, I’ll explain later,” Harry said with a smile. He turned and walked towards an ancient desk that was built into a set of bookshelves. He walked up to the shelves, found the giant leather bound book with his family history, and pulled it from the shelves. He laid it on the desk. “All right, the reason why you can’t touch anything unless I give it to you,” whispered Harry. “Ginny activated one of our security Charms. Unless she or I hand you something, anything you touch in this vault will create a Permanent Sticking Charm from you to the floor.” “Can you teach me that Charm?” asked Charlie. “I could have a lot of fun with a galleon on the street.” Harry laughed as he thought about people bending over to pick up a galleon only to get stuck to the galleon. “Sorry, I know how to activate and deactivate. I don’t know how to cast it,” he replied. “Let’s get back to why we are here, my family history.” “Harry, that book says Peverell, not Potter,” said Percy. “That was my original ancestors’ names. It was changed later to escape persecution.” “Persecution?” asked a puzzled Arthur. “Yes, but let me start at the beginning and work my way forward. There will be some gaps in the chronology, but there is nothing we can do now. “My original ancestors were the Peverell brothers. You heard of them from the stories of the Beedle the Bard. They were known as the Three Brothers.” Harry hesitated as the Weasleys reacted to his statement. He didn’t wait for them to comment. “The story wasn’t true though. They never met Death on a bridge. They were three powerful wizards who had escaped death during the Dark Ages. After all, if the third brother had taken Death’s Invisibility Cloak, people would be able to see Death coming.” He tried to make a joke, but saw that no one was laughing. Clearing his throat he continued on. “My direct ancestor was the youngest who created the Invisibility Cloak, Ignotus. The eldest was Antioch. He had studied wand making and created a powerful wand, which later became known as the Death Stick. The middle brother, Cadmus, worked with an enchanted stone….” “The Resurrection Stone?” asked Arthur. “Yes, the story isn’t exactly accurate. The brothers had developed these magical objects to help them survive during the dark ages as they traveled about Europe, Asia, and Africa trying to uncover all the various types of magic in the world. “According to Ignotus’ writing about those travels, many groups of magical people were not accepting of others. Deadly battles routinely broke out when they came upon these groups. Antioch was the warrior of the three. Cadmus would use the stone to call upon a deceased friend that he trusted to investigate if there were any necromancers in the new group they found. He could also use his contact with the dead to impress the necromancers they met. Ignotus was their forward scout.” “Necromancy, I thought that was a rare Dark Art,” interjected Percy. “During the ninth century it wasn’t uncommon, particularly in many remote areas of eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the more populated areas, the magical community shied away from necromancy. They still had many confrontations, before Antioch was defeated in Spain. “After his death Cadmus and Ignotus returned to England. They had spent ten years exploring the world. The brothers married and settled down to raise their families.” Harry stopped talking and smiled at the information he had learned from this journal started by his ancestor. “Ignotus had bought land just outside of the town of London. Cadmus moved to Scotland, where Hogsmeade is now located.” “It was Ignotus’ son Petyr that saved the Gringotts family of goblins from being murdered. However, maybe the most ironic part of the two remaining brothers’ significance, was who their daughters married. Ignotus’s daughter Elizabeth married Gregory Gryffindor. Cadmus’s daughter Gwyneth married Lorci Slytherin. You would not believe who their children were,” he said sardonically. “Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin were cousins,” smiled Arthur. “Second cousins,” said Harry with a smile. “I think even Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff were distantly related. That is for another discussion. I want to get back to the descendants of Ignotus Peverell. Petyr had rescued the first Grins Gringotts from being murdered, by using his fathers’ Invisibility Cloak. They had also invited the Goblin and his family to live on their estate on the outskirts of London. “Gringotts bank is actually the original manor house for the Peverell family. Ginny and I own all the land that Diagon Alley sits on and we collect rent from all the businesses located there.” “No wonder you are so bloody wealthy,” said Charlie. “There are other reasons that occurred several years later and relates to those suits of armor,” he said pointing back towards the entrance of the vault. “The Peverells were also friendly with Muggles. Even though they were not of noble birth, they were accepted by the British nobles. Ignotus had formed a relationship with the local lords when he purchased Diagon Estates. They even had Muggle serfs working for them. “Several generations later, western Europe started to organize against the Moors. They started fighting crusades against them. When Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus were traveling, they had fought against Moor sorcerers. They were fighting in Spain when Antioch had died. Two hundred years later, Francis Peverell joined the crusades armed with the knowledge that they would meet sorcerers. “Even though the crusades were organized with the blessing of the Vatican, the lords and the knights looked the other way when Francis used magic to protect them. Four nobles invited Francis to join them as they formed a special group of fighters called the Knights Templar. That suit of armor was his.” He pointed to the battered suit of armor with the white tunic adorned with a red cross. They had walked from the desk to the suits of armor by the entrance. “Whose armor were these other suits?” asked Arthur. “Yeah, I would like to know that,” shouted Fred. “I also want to know. We are a couple of inquiring minds,” said George. Harry looked over at them and started to laugh. They were stuck to the pile of galleons. Fred was turned around looking like he tried to hide his stuck hand behind his back. George stood like he was casually leaning against the galleons. It looked strange that he didn’t stand up, until Harry noticed his arse was stuck to the galleons also. Ron though had both hands and his right knee stuck to the galleons. Ginny was giggling like a girl at the sight of her brothers. All the Weasleys including the three stuck to the galleons were soon laughing along. Harry enjoyed hearing the entire family laughing. He had always worried that he had ruined Ginny’s relationship with her family. “What do you think, love?” asked Ginny. “Should we release them or leave them here for a while longer. They do look rather nice, almost like moving statues.” “We have natural artistic abilities,” teased Fred. Ginny waved her wand and her brothers were released. George wasn’t ready for the spell to be released and slipped pulling hundreds of galleons down on top of him. Fred and Ron laughed at him. “I should be upset by this situation, but considering I am covered in gold, I find it rather nice,” said George placing his hands behind his head. He looked like he was lying in bed with a golden blanket over him. Ginny waved her wand and the galleons flew back into neat stacks leaving George lying on the ground without his golden covering. “You were always a spoil sport, Gin-Gin,” complained George. “Harry, you were explaining about how your family obtained its fortune, before those three interrupted us,” huffed Percy. Harry smiled at Percy. He had been completely engrossed with everything Harry had said about his family. “The Knights Templar grew from the stories of their successes in battles. The Vatican gave them special status in Europe. They were above all the Kings in Europe and they could move across all the lands. Soon afterwards, the Templars started to offer the nobles moving through Europe to the Crusades, in Iberia and the Middle East, banking services. A noble would deposit their gold with the Templars and receive a parchment stating how much gold they deposited. The noble could then present the parchment and receive gold from another Templar banking location. His balance would be updated with each withdrawal. There was of course a small fee for these services. “Francis’ son, Geoffery, created the small vault used for transporting gold from one bank to another. It was also during this time that Geoffery discovered many of the places that we have as estates. The Peverell’s purpose with the Knights Templar changed to being bankers instead of fighters. They were able to move gold around Europe and the Mediterranean. “The Templars kept collecting treasure from knights, nobles, and even Kings as they went off to war. Soon most of the wealth in Europe was held by the Templars. Kings became jealous and even the Vatican was becoming worried that the Templars would become a threat to their control. The Templars were a large army and the wealthiest organization in Europe. “On October 13, 1307, King Phillip of France, by order of the Pope, arrested and began executing all the known Templar Knights. He also tried to reclaim the treasure. King Phillip’s father had borrowed heavily from the Templars to fund an army to reach the Middle East leaving France bankrupt. Percival had collected these suits of armor from the King of France as collateral for the loan. “The Knights Templar ceased to exist. Percival Peverell distributed gold to many of the surviving members. The rest ended up here,” he waved his hand around the vault. “But, when did they change the name to Potter,” asked Molly. “On October 14, 1307, Percival cast a charm similar to the Fidelius on the name Peverell. Anyone who knew them would forget their names. The name Peverell disappeared from all records relating to the Knights Templar. We even checked in Muggle records and they stated five nobles started the organization. They only knew the name of four of them. The fifth was forgotten.” “Bloody Hell,” said Charlie. He was scratching at the one ornate suit of armor. “This looks like gold plate on this armor.” “It probably is. It was a King’s armor after all,” said Harry with a smile. “You can’t have a King wearing something drab like steel.” The sound of the steel door creaking open caught everyone’s attention. They turned and saw an outside goblin handing a parchment to one of the goblins on the inside of the door. That one in turn walked to Ginny and handed the parchment off. She handed it to her father. Mr. Weasley unrolled it and read it slowly. “Well, Weasleys it looks like I have the rest of the week off.” The patriarch announced joyfully. There was a loud cheer echoing off the stone walls of the vault. “Why don’t we go to Egypt,” suggested Ginny. “We can fill them in as to why the Potter family is so important to Goblins and House Elves.” “Before we go, I have a question about something I saw back in the vault,” announced Charlie. “It was on the other side of the desk the Peverell History was on.” Harry looked at Ginny and Bill. What Charlie requested could reveal more than they had wanted to let people know. There was an uncomfortable moment as the three of them looked at each other. “Charlie, what could be so important,” questioned Molly. He shifted on his feet as everyone’s eyes were on him. “I saw four chests with the markings of the Hogwarts houses,” said Charlie quietly. Harry took a deep breath. They were never clear how much they should tell them. He trusted Charlie wouldn’t tell. The person he was worried about was Ron. Would he blab all over Hogwarts? He looked at Ginny for guidance. She was standing there concentrating. He assumed she was trying to determine if they could trust her family. Her nose was scrunched up as she concentrated. Harry thought she looked adorable and wanted to kiss her nose. “They are from the four founders,” said Ginny as she opened her eyes. “These are the things we are most worried about people finding out they are down here. Voldemort wants them for his collection, and we don’t want to give them to him.” Her entire family cringed a little at the mention of Voldemort. “Why would he want them?” asked Ron. “He wanted to beat the best. He wanted to have control over the original founders. He could use some of the artifacts to grow more powerful,” Ginny said to her brother. “Can we see it, please,” begged Charlie. “What has piqued your interest?” asked Bill. Charlie looked at Harry and Ginny. “I have always heard that Godric Gryffindor had a magnificent sword, but no one knew where it was. I was wondering if you had it down here.” “It is down here, but it isn’t with the other artifacts in the chest,” said Harry. “What?” said Charlie with a confused look on his face? “It is down here, but not in the chests?” Harry bent over and reached down into the top of his left boot. He felt the grip of the sword appear from its magically expanded sheath. Standing up and pulling on the sword removing it from his boot. The magnificent sword gleamed in the dim light of the vault. “I carry it with me,” Harry said to a wide-eyed Charlie. He laid the sword across both his hands for Charlie to look at. Everyone else crowded around to look at it. Charlie stared at the sword and he even reached out, but didn’t touch it. “Absolutely bloody amazing,” gasped Charlie. The rest of the family muttered similar comments. Harry was amazed that no one tried to take the sword from him. He carefully placed the sword back into his boot. Even a small cut from it could be deadly. “Do all of you have swords in your boots?” asked Ron. Bill and Sirius laughed at the question. Ginny reached down and pulled out a dagger. It was made by the goblins like Gryffindor’s sword, but the blade was only six inches long. In the pommel was a large yellow topaz and the grip was made from onyx. “Rowena Ravenclaw’s,” Ginny said. “I never knew about a dagger,” said a surprised Molly. “What else do you have of the founders down here and how did you get it?” “I thought you spent the last two years studying, not hunting up artifacts,” said Percy. Harry really didn’t want to get into prophecies, but Percy left him no choice. “We have the artifacts down here, because of the seer, Trelawney. “I see something dark in your future,” Charlie, Fred, and George all said in unison. Bill and Percy smiled at the comment. The rest just stared at them. “Sybil Trelawney is a fraud of a Divination Professor at Hogwarts. She always predicts that something dark will happen in half the students’ future. The only thing dark is when they go to sleep at night,” Percy said with disdain. “Harry is talking about the ancestor of Professor Trelawney,” said Bill. “She lived several hundred years ago and was a renowned seer. After she realized that she couldn’t remember any of her own prophecies, she had an assistant follow her around and record them. We have the book back there.” “The Prophecy that caused the Potters and Gryffindors to collect the artifacts of the founders was one that read: Darkness shall arise and consume our world. It will come from our four foundations, and use one to destroy the others. Only a bond of the three can save the light.” “What does that mean and what does it have to do with the founders?” asked Ron. Bill chuckled at his younger brother. “The four foundations are the four founders of Hogwarts, and the one to destroy the other three was Slytherin.” “We are descendants of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, even though some of us don’t show it,” teased Ginny. “I am Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and some Ravenclaw,” said Harry. “We are all related to the four founders in some degree.” “So you and Ginny must destroy He-who-must-not-be-named,” said Ron. Harry stared at him and the rest of the Weasley’s. “Voldemort heard a prophesy that said I would be able to defeat him with a power he knows not.” He reached over and brushed his hand down Ginny’s cheek. “I feel that our bond is the power he knows not.” |
| Reviews 356 |
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