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SIYE Time:12:39 on 28th March 2024
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Harry Potter and the Prophesized Six
By bengpotter31

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, James Potter, Lily Potter, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance
Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations
Rating: R
Reviews: 668
Summary: This is the sequel to my previous story, Harry Potter and the Twists of Fate, starting off a few hours after the last chapter. Harry and his friends are now aware of the part they will play in the coming war. Can their friendship and love hold them together or will they allow jealousy and uncertainty to pull them apart, allowing Voldemort to win?
Hitcount: Story Total: 327465; Chapter Total: 7296





Author's Notes:
Well, this is the longest chapter I’ve written for this story. I hope it wasn’t too long for you. I thought the part about the combined birthday party was too short for its own chapter. Wasn’t the Potter vault cool? LOL! Well, just don’t sit there, please review.




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Chapter 6: A Shared birthday party and The Potter Vault

The following day, the resumption of their training prevented the kids from focusing on Rita Skeeter being an unregistered animagus. James could now fully focus on supervising them because he was no longer working for the Ministry.

He gave them more difficult exercises to perform and started teaching them more martial arts moves. He observed their sparring and concluded that Ti and Neville were the best in martial arts, especially judo.

Since the others had already caught up to Harry’s knowledge in spells, James decided to allow the kids to duel each other that afternoon. They were ecstatic when he told them. He did warn them to keep their spells to simple hexes and curses, the shield charm and the disarming hex. He also conjured a lot of pillows around the room.

For now, James decided not to have Harry and Ginny duel each other. He wasn’t sure what effect being bonded to each other would have on a duel between the two. For all he knew, they’d blast each other dead. Instead, he put Harry against Ron and Ginny against Hermione.

First, it was Harry and Ron. When James gave the signal, Harry and Ron fired stinging hexes at each other. Whereas Harry moved aside as soon as he cast his spell, Ron remained stationary for a couple of seconds, forcing him to dodge Harry’s hex. Harry then used a jelly legs curse on him while the taller boy was avoiding that hex. Ron found himself walking on rubbery legs and barely avoided another stinging hex. He was forced to use cast a Finite Incantatum to restore his legs. Harry used that moment to successfully hit him with a disarming hex, throwing the redhead a few feet backward.

“Sorry mate,” Harry said as he helped his best friend up.

“Yeah, that’s okay, Harry,” Ron said, wincing as he got up. “That was a good round. I’ll have to remember to move as soon as I hex someone.”

“That’s right, Ron,” James said. He turned to address all of them. “Most wizards look to dueling as standing around and casting spells to each other. In the Aurors, it’s emphasized to keep moving around as you cast spells. It makes you harder to hit. Of course, moving about forces you to be aware of your surroundings which may affect your ability to think of what spell to cast next. But it’s not hard to overcome that. That was a good round between Harry and Ron. Now, let’s see Ginny and Hermione.”

Ginny and Hermione looked nervously at each other. They immediately cast hexes at each other upon James’ signal and moved around. They managed to dodge each other’s spells for about four minutes. Then Hermione decided to cast a shield against Ginny’s next spell which turned out to be a disarming spell. Ginny’s spell hit the shield and shattered it. Hermione was stunned for a moment, giving Ginny the chance to cast another disarm spell which the older girl couldn’t avoid in time. Like Ron, Hermione was thrown a few feet back by the younger girl’s spell.

“Quite impressive,” James said, “It seems Albus was right in saying that Harry and Ginny have great power. A shield is usually capable of holding one spell without shattering. Now, there’s a lesson for Hermione. Whatever happens during a duel, try not to get distracted, even if something surprising happens.”

Hermione’s face turned a bit red, “I understand, Mr. Potter. I’ll try not to be surprised.”

James smiled at her, “Good. Well, let’s see about the others.” He paired up the others.
Neville and Ti held each other off much longer as did Rose and Maggie, in spite of Maggie and Ti being younger than their opponents, even though Neville and Rose prevailed in the end.

James was pretty impressed by the magical strength of all the kids. However, one thing he also noticed was the overly enthusiastic way Rose cheered for Ti. He had been noticing that his daughter and Ti often sat beside each other at lunch for the past couple of weeks. Then he saw Maggie glaring for a second at his daughter and Neville glance a couple of times at Rose in a way that was more than a friend.

James shook his head. It seemed they were all entering the stage of adolescent relationships. Of course, Harry and Ginny were beyond that stage as evidenced by the formation of the Soul Bond between them. As for the others, it seemed they would not be so lucky. James knew how hard that stage would be and it would be even harder with the coming war. He decided to keep an eye on them on that front as well.

James had the kids go for another round against each other, all at the same time before ending the dueling session. Ron and Hermione managed to last longer this time against Harry and Ginny, though they were both disarmed at the end. All in all, it was a good beginning for this part of their training.

The week passed quickly with everyone improving in their dueling skills and before everybody knew it, it was Friday and Neville’s birthday. Because of the occasion, James allowed the kids to have the afternoon off. On Harry’s insistence, they held a joint party that night at Longbottom Mansion for Neville and Harry who was having his own birthday the next day. Harry reasoned to his father that it was less likely that Voldemort would attack them since the evil wizard saw no threat in Neville and Harry owed Neville for celebrating their birthday the previous year on the 31st of July.

Longbottom Mansion was a bit smaller than Potter Manor but just as stately, made of stone and marble. The house had only two floors but also had a basement and an attic. From the oak double front doors, there was a long entry hall leading to the very large living room. A door on the left side of the entry hall led to a modest library and office. The living room had a brick and marble fireplace, three long couches and several armchairs. Several lovely vases were tastefully placed around it on marble tables. A set of sliding double doors on the living room straight ahead from the front doors opened to a wide porch. A hallway on the left side of the living room led to a set of stairs to the second floor. Another set of double doors on the right opened to a large stately dining room with a long exquisitely carved oak table with enough sets for thirty people. The doors to the kitchen were on the right side of the dining room. The second floor had several bedrooms and a couple of bathrooms.

They had the party in the garden which was as large as that of Potter Manor though it was mostly open with a large swan fountain in the middle. Aside from the Potters, the Weasleys, the Longbottoms, Hermione, Ti, Sirius, Sam, and Remus, they invited Hermione’s parents and brother, Dean Tomas, Seamus Finnegan, Lavender Brown and the Patil twins. Dumbledore and McGonagall also dropped by.

The focus was temporarily shifted from the birthday boys when Andrew and Daisy met Daniel Granger for the first time. The Potter twins were playing with some Muggle blocks on the porch when the Grangers had arrived and put Daniel down beside them. The Potter twins gazed curiously at Daniel and Daniel at the two of them. Then Daisy gave a block to Daniel who looked at it for a moment before placing it on top of two other blocks. After that, the three toddlers played happily together, much to the amusement of their parents and older siblings.

Hermione’s parents had fun talking with the other adults about the differences between the Magical and Muggle worlds. After a good dinner that had been cooked jointly by Molly, Lily and Alice, they all settled down to give the birthday boys their presents.

Neville got several books on Herbology from Sirius and Sam, Hermione, Remus and the Weasleys while Ti, Seamus and Dean gave him some chocolate frogs and other candies. Lavender gave him some cologne while the Patil twins gave him some Muggle dress shirts. The Potters gave him a rare plant called the Mimbulus mimbletonia which he loved.

Harry got chocolate frogs and other candies from Ron, Dean and Seamus; a hand knit sweater from Molly and Arthur, a leather belt from the Patil twins and Lavender, Zonko products from the Weasley twins and some books on Defense from Hermione, Sirius, Sam, Ti and Remus.

Ginny gave him a quick kiss on the lips and a brightly wrapped package. Opening the package, Harry found a box containing a bottle of cologne.

“That’s just your first present,” Ginny told him mentally, “I have another one for you tomorrow when we’re alone.” Harry ducked his head to hide the blush that formed on his face. He was glad when Ron loudly called for the cake.

Just as they were cutting the cake, they heard the sound of the Floo activating. A few seconds later, a young woman with a pretty heart-shaped face and bubblegum pink hair stepped out onto the porch

Grinning, Harry ran up to the young woman. “Tonks!” he cried, hugging her, “You came!”

Tonks grinned as she embraced him, “Of course, I came. I haven’t seen you in a long while. I can’t miss your birthday for the fourth time. Sorry I’m late. I was on duty last night and overslept.” She stepped back and looked at him, “My, you’ve grown. You’re already taller than me.”

Harry blushed. “Well,” he stammered, “yeah, that happens as you grow up.”

Ginny came up just then to Harry’s relief and said, “Hi, Tonks, how are you?” She gave her a quick hug.

“Hey Ginny,” Tonks said, returning the hug, “Long time no see. I’m okay. You’ve grown as well, I see. So, I heard that you’ve hooked up with this poor bloke.”

“Hey, what does that mean?” Harry demanded, scowling.

Tonks laughed, “Nothing, Harry, nothing. Come on, I want to meet the other birthday boy.”

The three of them returned to the party. James and Frank came up to them first.

“Hey, Tonks,” James said, smiling at the metamorphmagus, “Glad you made it.”

“Thanks, James,” she said, also smiling, “Hi, Frank,” She exchanged a brief hug with the two men.

She also greeted the others, exchanging hugs with Molly, Alice and Lily. She was introduced to Hermione and her family, Neville, Maggie, Dean, Seamus, Parvati, Padma and Lavender. She spent a few minutes playing with the three toddlers.

Tonks had just wished Neville a happy birthday when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Sirius grinning at her.

“Hi, cousin,” he said, “Nice of you to drop by. By the way, you remember Remus, don’t you?”

She turned to the man standing beside Sirius. She noticed he had a light sprinkle of gray in his brown hair and even his brown eyes had a bit of a grayish cast to them. The face was vaguely familiar and quite handsome to her.

“Er, I’m not sure,” she answered Sirius. “He does seem familiar.”

Watching them, Harry could have sworn Tonks had blushed as she looked at Remus but that could have been a trick of the light.

Remus smiled a bit, “I’m, uh, not surprised. I think the last time you saw me was Christmas time in our sixth year at Hogwarts when we visited your parents’ place. I believe you were around four.”

Sirius laughed, “I think you’re right, Moony. If I remember right, she followed us around the house the whole time we were there. She was quite cute then. Come to think of it, she still is, right?” He wagged his eyebrows at Remus.

Tonks glared at him, “That’s enough, you. Keep that up and I’ll make sure you can’t have any more children. Now, come on, I want to meet your wife and my cousin.”

As the cousins walked off toward Sam and Ti who were at the other end of the table, Harry noticed Moony watching them with a strange look on his face. He looked at Ginny. “I wonder what that was all about. I’ve never seen that look on Remus’ face before."

“Oh, I’ve seen that look before,”
Ginny replied, amusement in the tone of her mental voice, “Just not on Remus.” She started following Sirius and Tonks, pulling Harry along since they had their arms around each other’s waists.

Harry raised an eyebrow, “Oh? On whose face?”

“Oh, someone with messy black hair and beautiful emerald eyes whose birthday is today,”
Ginny said, grinning up at him, “He gets that look when he’s looking at m.”

Harry looked puzzled for a moment then his eyes widened a bit as he realized what Ginny meant. He shook his head vehemently, trying to deny it. “Remus likes Tonks in that way? No way!”

Ginny patted his arm, “Don’t worry about it, Harry. It may take them a while to figure it out. Just let it alone for now.”

Harry shook his head again but didn’t say anything else. By then, they were watching Tonks hug Sam and then Ti. Ti laughed as Tonks gave him a demonstration of her metamorphmagus powers by changing the colors of her head. Harry was glad that the two cousins seemed to be hitting it off well. In fact, he was glad the party as a whole was going well.

The Grangers soon left as Daniel was already falling asleep. Daisy and Andrew were reluctantly to bid goodbye to their new friend so Lily took them home as well. Most of the other adults left after a few more hours while the kids continued talking and eating late into the night. They even stayed up until midnight so they could wish Harry a proper happy birthday.

Harry awoke the next morning feeling great about the previous night and proceeded downstairs after changing and visiting the bathroom. He was enthusiastically greeted again a happy birthday by his family as he entered the kitchen, warming his heart.

After breakfast, his family led him to the living room for his presents from them. Rose gave him a new broom cleaning kit for his Firebolt. He also got a bunch of chocolate and candies from the twins (probably courtesy of his parents).

Then his parents showed him their present which was a new trunk. Harry was puzzled as he studied it. It seemed to be a bit smaller than his old one and had five separate locks.

“Uh, Dad,” Harry said, “Isn’t it smaller than my old one? And why does this have five locks? It seems a lot just to keep its contents safe.”

“Oh, that’s because it’s not a normal trunk, Harry,” James said, “This is a magical trunk. It actually has five separate compartments. Each lock opens a different compartment which is as large as the trunk itself. You can keep different things in each. That way, you’ll never run out of space for your books and other things.”

Harry’s and Rose’s eyes widened.

“Wow,” Rose said, “That must be expensive.”

James shrugged, “Yeah, it costs quite a bit more than a regular trunk, about four times as much. But it doesn’t matter.”

“Uh, Dad, are you sure you can spend that much on a trunk?” Harry said, “I mean you’re out of a job. Rose and I are going to Hogwarts. In a few years, so will the twins. Can we afford such an expensive present for me?”

James placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder, “Now, son, don’t worry about that. We can more than afford it. Even if I didn’t work, we can afford having all four of you going to Hogwarts at the same time. We have more than enough money.”

“Really?” Harry asked, perplexed.

James sighed, “Yes, son. In fact, I didn’t have to work in the first place but I wanted to do something other than sit around like a typical country gentleman of the last century. Merlin! We have so much that your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren don’t have to work if they don’t want to.”

Harry and Rose’s eyes widened further.

“Tell you what,” James said, “You’re fifteen today. In two years, you’ll be of age. I think it’s time you learned the full extent of our family’s holdings.”

“Holdings?” Harry asked.

“Oh yes, holdings,” James said, “Our family has a lot of investments in the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. In fact, we’re probably richer than the Malfoys. You know, it’s time you knew all about it. I’ll take you to Gringotts today and show you the family vault and some of the papers. You want to come, Rose?”

“Uh, no, thanks, Dad,” Rose said, “I think I’ll wait till I’m of age to learn all that.”

“Okay, suit yourself,” James said to her, shrugging his shoulders. He turned back to Harry. “Bring your invisibility cloak, Harry. I think it would be best if no one saw you in Diagon Alley today.”

Just as he went up to his room to get the cloak, Harry felt his link with Ginny open up.

“Good morning, love,” Ginny said to him in his mind. “Happy Birthday again. Hey, what’s wrong? You seem troubled.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, Gin. My dad told me just now that we’re so wealthy that the next four generations of Potters don’t have to work for a living if they didn’t want to. He said we were probably richer than the Malfoys. It just felt like being hit with a stunner.”

“Oh, Harry, didn’t you figure out that you were loaded? I mean, you’ve been taking trips to other countries for years for vacations. How do you think you could afford all that?”

“Err; I just thought they paid Mum and Dad really well at the Ministry.”

“Come on, Harry,”
Ginny scoffed, “If they paid Ministry workers well, I wouldn’t have had to get those used books in my first year, would I? I do have new clothes every now and then, but not every time I wanted.”

“I’m sorry, Ginny. I guess I never thought about it. Well, Dad’s taking me to see our vault at Gringotts right now. I’ve never been down there. I’m a bit nervous about what I’ll see.”

“Don’t worry about it, Harry. No matter how wealthy you are, you’re nothing like Draco Malfoy or his father. Remember, I love you for you and not for anything you have.”

“Thanks, Gin. To tell you the truth, I was afraid that finding out exactly how rich we are might change me. I was afraid it might change the way you feel about me or why you love me. I’m glad you said that. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, love. Now, I have to change and get some breakfast before Ron eats everything. Um, can you ask your Dad if I can take a peek at your vault through you? I can concentrate on something else if he wants me to wait until we’re married.”


Both of them blushed at the mention of marriage.

“I doubt he’d mind, Gin. He already considers you another daughter, but I’ll ask for you.”

“Dad,” Harry said as he came down the stairs, “I just talked to Ginny and told her where we were going and why. Do you mind if she looks around the vault through me?”

“Why would I mind?” James asked, smiling at Harry, “She’s going to be a Potter in a few years. I doubt any daughter of Molly Weasley will let the wealth of her future husband go to her head.” Harry turned red again at his father’s insinuation of marrying Ginny in the future but didn’t say a thing.

James side-apparated with Harry to an alley in Muggle London near the Leaky Cauldron then with Harry walking beside him under his invisibility cloak, James went inside the pub and, after a quick greeting to Tom the barman, slipped through the secret entrance to Diagon Alley.

They walked up the street, ignoring the people around them who were staring at James. It was only a week after Rita Skeeter’s article in the Daily Prophet. James had only sent a statement refuting her accusations and refused to be interviewed further by any reporter of that newspaper.

When they got to the huge snowy white building that was the Wizarding bank, they walked up the steps, through the bronze front doors, then the silver doors with the warning against thievery over it into the vast marble hall that was the bank’s lobby.

Harry had been here numerous times before but had always waited with his mother and sister while James withdrew money from their vault. Once more he gazed around the hall at the long counter with a hundred goblins on high stools, all busy either writing in ledgers, weighing precious stones or counting stacks of coins.

James approached one of the goblins, bowed his head once and said, “Good morning, I’d like to speak to Griphook please.”

The goblin took one look at James and replied, “Of course, Mr. Potter, just one moment.”

“Dad,” Harry whispered, “Who is Griphook?”

“He’s the goblin manager of our account and holdings, Harry,” James whispered back, “Now, remember that goblins are proud people. They’re not the subservient savage race our history books make them out to be. You have to treat them with respect. Watch what I do, okay?”

“Okay, Dad,” Harry whispered back.

The goblin James had talked to earlier came back with another goblin.

“Ah, Mr. Potter,” the other goblin said, giving James a quick bow, “What can I do for you today?”

James returned the bow before replying, “I’d like to visit the family vault today and talk about the family assets and holdings, Griphook.” He whispered, “My son is with us and I want him to see and know everything.” James inclined his head toward the space where Harry was standing, still under his invisibility cloak.

Griphook nodded with no change in his expression, “Very well, this way please.” He led them to one of the numerous doors that led off from the hall. When they went through the door, Harry was surprised to find that they were in a narrow stone passageway lit with torches on the walls and a line of little railway tracks on the floor.

Once the door was closed, removing them from the view of anyone in the bank lobby, James said, “You can remove the cloak, Harry.”

When Harry had done so, James said, “Griphook, I’d like you to meet my oldest son and heir, Harry James Potter.”

Griphook bowed, “It is a pleasure to meet you, young Mr. Potter.”

Harry nervously bowed like his father had, “I am pleased to meet you, Griphook.”

Griphook grinned, “Very good, Harry Potter. It is pleasing to us when a wizard shows respect.”

“Why shouldn’t we?” Harry asked. “After all, your people are obviously intelligent and magically strong. You also provide a very important service to the Wizarding world.”

The goblin seemed pleased with Harry’s answer and bowed again. He then whistled and a small cart came hurtling up to tracks towards them. They all climbed in and the cart took off.

As they hurtled through a maze of twisted passageways at breakneck speed, Harry felt like he was on a roller coaster from one of the Muggle parks he visited years ago. He enjoyed the feel of the cold air against his face, whipping his hair back, just like he was on a broom. They went deeper underground, past a lake with huge stalactites and stalagmites growing from the floor and ceiling.

Finally, the cart stopped in front of a large metal door. A plaque was over the door with gold letter spelling out POTTER. Strangely enough, Harry could see no sign of a keyhole or even a doorknob.

“Uh, Dad,” Harry said, “How do we get in? There’s no way to open the door.”

“Oh, that’s because only a true Potter, someone with Potter blood, can enter it,” James said, “or a spouse who is truly in love with a Potter.” He grinned and wagged his eyebrows.

Harry blushed; thinking of Ginny who he sensed was also blushing. “Uh, so how do we get in?”

“Just approach the door, Harry,” James said. “It will open up if you are a Potter.”

Harry walked up to the door. When he was a foot from the door, a blue light enveloped his whole body for a few seconds then the door slid opened and Harry went in.

He suddenly stopped and his eyes widened at the sight of the vault and its contents. Vaguely, he felt Ginny fall off the couch she was sitting on. He couldn’t blame her as he was equally stunned.

The vault was HUGE! It was in a cavern about the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts with a ceiling just as high, lit all around with torches on scones set in the walls. Most of the cavern was filled with stacks of coins of various types, almost reaching up to the ceiling. Set against one wall were several display cases containing suits of armor and weapons ranging from daggers to swords to polearms. There were also several chests of varying sizes on the floor.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up a bit to his father, who was smiling.

“Quite a shock to see all of this, huh?” James asked. “I had the same expression on my face when my dad, your grandfather, first showed this to me before my seventh year at Hogwarts. It is a lot to take in.”

“You’re telling me,” Harry said, still dazed. “I’m afraid Ginny is lost for words as well.”

“Oh, yeah,” James said, “I forgot she could see this. Well, I hope she doesn’t hurt herself. Come on, let’s take a look around.”

They walked further inside. They looked at the suits of armor in the display cases. There were several suits of chain mail and a couple of full suits of plate armor. There were several swords of various styles from Roman short swords to Viking long swords, Scottish broadswords and even a couple of Japanese katanas.

James went on to one of the larger chests and opened it, revealing a pile of rubies of various sizes from that of a fingernail to a chicken egg. Another chest contained emeralds. A third contained sapphires. A smaller chest had diamonds in it, mostly half a carat in size.

James opened another small chest, revealing several jewelry pieces of exquisite quality. There was a gold necklace set with various precious jewels and a large sapphire as the center piece, a tiara set with diamonds and rubies, several silver and gold brooches and bracelets.

Finally, James opened a third small chest. Inside were two dozen rings of various sizes and types. All of them looked expensive.


Meanwhile, at the Burrow, Ginny was still on the floor, stunned by all the things she was seeing through Harry’s eyes. Luckily, when she had fallen off her chair, she had been alone. But now, her mother came into the living room and noticed her sitting on the floor.

Running up to her daughter, Molly knelt beside her, “Ginny, what’s wrong? Why are you on the floor?”

Breaking out of her daze, Ginny looked up at her mother, “Um, I’m all right, Mum.” She got up to her feet and sat down on the couch again.

“You certainly don’t look all right, young lady,” Molly said, her hands on her hips. “Now, tell me. Why were you sitting on the floor just now?”

Ginny sighed and shook her head to clear it, “Um, Harry’s dad took him just now to see their vault which he’d never seen before. They said it would be okay if I looked through Harry’s eyes.” She took a deep breath and blew it out, “I just never realized how rich they were. Merlin! They’ve got piles and piles of gold and jewels in there.”

“Ginevra Molly Weasley!” Molly exclaimed, “You shouldn’t have asked. It’s not appropriate.”

“But Mum, they said it was okay,” Ginny said, “I was just curious. James told Harry that they were actually richer than the Malfoys and I was curious what that meant.”

Molly sat down beside Ginny and took her hand, “I know you and Harry have that bond thing and are supposedly destined to be together for life. But you’re not even engaged yet. It’s not an appropriate thing for a decent young lady to see her boyfriend’s family vault. That’s for married spouses. I suggest you disengage yourself from Harry for now and wait until he leaves Gringotts. Then go help your brothers de-gnome the garden.”

Ginny sighed, “All right, Mum.” “Harry, Mum says it’s inappropriate for me to see your vaults before we’re married. I’ll separate from you for a while, at least until you leave Gringotts.”

“Huh, oh, all right, Gin. I’ll see you later.”
Harry answered her distractedly.

Ginny sighed and disconnected her senses from Harry except for sensing where he was before going out to the garden. Harry barely felt her presence lessen since he was still listening to his dad.

“These rings have been handed down to us for generations, Harry,” James was saying to him. James’ face looked sad as he pointed out a pair of rings that were similar but of different sizes. “These are your grandparents’ wedding rings. They died from natural causes just before we went into hiding. Some of the others are also wedding rings while others engagement rings. I picked your mum’s engagement ring from this collection along with our wedding rings. There’s even a few promise rings here.”

“Dad,” Harry said, “What’s a promise ring?”

James smiled as he spoke, “Well, it’s a ring you give a young lady that symbolizes your promise to ask for her hand at a later date. It’s a formal way of committing yourself to that girl alone, especially if it looks like it will take a long time before you can become engaged. It used to be the custom to give it before the engagement ring. It’s rarely used nowadays. I didn’t give one to your mum since we were already in seventh year when we got together and expected to marry after graduation.”


Harry was quiet for a minute as he stared at the rings. He reached into his link to Ginny and was a bit surprised though relieved that she was not looking through his eyes anymore. Then he asked, “Are these rings set for only one size?”

James raised an eyebrow, “Oh, these rings are charmed to automatically shrink or grow to a fit someone’s finger. Why do you ask?”

“Well, um, I’m thinking of giving Ginny a promise ring now,” Harry said, blushing furiously.

“You think that’s necessary?” James asked. “After all, with the bond, it’s already assured that you’ll get married to each other one day.”

“I know,” Harry said, “I just want her to have something to always remind her how much I love her. I also want the others at school to know that we’re committed to each other. I think a promise ring will send that message.”

“Well, all right,” James said, smiling at him, “Go ahead and pick one. Just promise me that you’ll wait a couple more years before picking out an engagement ring.”

“Sure, Dad,” Harry said, grinning. He looked over the rings. After a few minutes, he picked a silver one with an emerald and a ruby set side by side. He saw several small boxes in the chest beside the rings and placed the ring carefully inside one. He then pocketed the box.

“Dad, do you have any idea of how much is in here?” he then asked.

“Well, I’m not certain,” James answered, “The last estimate Griphook gave me, which was last year, was about 10 million galleons.”

Harry’s jaw dropped again, “You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” James said, “The reason I said it’s an estimate is because of the earnings we get from our investments and other holdings. Those earnings offset our expenses and constantly adds to all this. Come on, let’s join Griphook. He’ll show us a listing of our family’s investments and properties.”

They left the vault which closed behind them. Griphook was patiently waiting for them at the cart. They boarded the cart and sped off again. When they arrived at the entrance, Griphook led them to another door.

Beyond the door was a conference room with several plush chairs arranged around a large black wooden table. Griphook asked them to sit down on one side of the table and left. Another goblin entered after a minute with a tea service and biscuits to which they helped themselves.

Harry sipped his tea as he tried to come to terms with all he had seen in the vault. His father didn’t say anything, allowing Harry to collect himself.

After a few more minutes, Griphook came back and sat opposite them. He had several folders and large envelopes in his arms. He passed them over to James.

“These are the present investment papers, Mr. Potter,” he said.

James passed them to Harry who looked through them. The papers showed that his family owned shares in several Wizarding companies engaged in businesses ranging from broomstick manufacturing to book publishing to the company making butterbeer. There were also shares in Muggle companies like IBM, Disney, Citicorp and British Airways.

“Wow!” Harry said, “This is great, Dad. I bet the Malfoys wouldn’t think of investing in Muggle companies.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” James said, “They’re too prejudiced against Muggles to consider such a thing. It’s their loss. Muggles are excellent businesspeople and they’ve got great ideas.”

He looked at other papers which showed properties in France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy, Jamaica, New York and Boston. Most of them were apartment buildings in the Wizarding sections of those cities, being rented to Wizards.

“Wow!” Harry said, “We own all these?”

“Yes,” James said, “However, it’s all actually registered as belonging to Red Griffon Properties, Inc. I formed the company after your grandparents died for the protection of the tenants. I didn’t want the buildings targeted just because we owned them. The goblins run it for us though I meet with them weekly for reports.”

Harry shook his head, “Blimey, Dad. This is just too much. I’d like to see the look on Draco’s face if he ever finds out about all this. I bet he’d turn red and purple at the same time.”

James smiled, “No doubt.” He turned to Griphook, “Well, I think that’s it, Griphook. Thank you so much for helping us today.” He gave the goblin another bow as he passed the papers back.

Griphook grinned, “Not at all, Mr. Potter, the pleasure is all mine. It is a distinct pleasure to be of service to such a fine wizard family as the Potters.” He took the papers, bowed to them and led them out of the room.

Once in the bank’s lobby, James said, “How about some ice cream before heading for home, birthday boy?”

Harry grinned, “Okay, Dad, sure. Thanks for showing me all that today.”

“No problem, son,” James said, “I’m glad to show you part of our family heritage.”

They walked down to Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor and enjoyed a sundae each. They then slipped out to Muggle London and to an empty alleyway where they Disapparated to Potter Manor.

Once she sensed that Harry was back at Potter Manor, Ginny reconnected to his mind.

“Harry?” Ginny said, “Um, is it all right if we talk about the vault?”

“What? Oh, sure, Gin,”
Harry said. “Where’d you go? Dad and I were looking at some jewelry and you weren’t looking with us.”

“What! I told you Mum wanted me to stop looking through you. Weren’t you paying attention?”
She sounded irritated.

“Uh, sorry, Ginny, I guess I was distracted by everything in that vault. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

“Well, all right, just this once. After all, it’s your birthday.”

“What was that about your mum telling you to stop looking through me?”

“It had to do with your vault. She said it was inappropriate for me to see your vault before we’re married.”

“Why?”
Harry asked. “We love each other and we have that soyl bond thing. Getting married in some ceremony will just be the icing on the cake. Why can’t you see the vault you’re going to have access to?”

Ginny sighed, “I know, Harry. Mum’s just old fashioned. Either that or she still hasn’t completely accepted the fact we’re practically married.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess,”
Harry answered, “Anyway, what did you think about the Potter vault? Overwhelming, wasn’t it?”

“You’re telling me. I couldn’t believe all that gold and those jewels. And I’ll have access to all that in a few years?! I can’t believe it!”

“Well, don’t get your knickers in a twist, dear,”
Harry said, “We won’t be the only ones. After all, Rose, Andrew and Daisy will have access to it, too, plus their spouses and children. Even then, it’s a lot of money. And that’s not all.”

“You mean there’s more?”
Ginny said, surprised.

“Yeah,” Harry confirmed, “After we left the vault, we went with Griphook to a conference room and he showed me papers saying we have investments in several Wizarding and Muggle companies and have apartment buildings for rent in several cities around the world. It knocked me for a loop. I never realized we got our money from somewhere else besides Dad’s job as an Auror and Mum’s as a spell researcher.”

“Wow, that is something,”
Ginny said.

“Yeah, it is. Of course, all those investments are guarded by the goblins to make sure we weren’t bothered. We wouldn’t want them threatened by the likes of Voldymort.”

“That makes sense, I guess,”
Ginny said, “Oh great, Mum’s calling me. I have to go set the table for lunch, Harry. I’ll see you later. After all, I haven’t given your present yet or your birthday kiss.” Her mental voice had a mischievous tone to it.

Harry couldn’t help grinning. “All right, Gin, I can’t wait.”

“Oh,”
She said, “By the way, have you told Rose yet about the vault and all?”

“Not yet,”
Harry said, “I’ll go find her and do that. See you later, love.”

They withdrew from their link to each other and Harry went to look for Rose, wondering how she’d feel about all that gold and jewels.

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