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Chapter Text

They were winning. Harry let himself believe that maybe, just maybe, they might win this. It may have been an ambush, but there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel. That was, until Bellatrix' spell hit Sirius and he fell through the veil. After that, Harry felt nothing but ice. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was enough to make him go numb.

He wasn't in control of his body as he ran after Bellatrix, even less so when Voldemort entered his mind, and he wasn't fully recovered by the time he got back to Hogwarts. The amount of people in the Ministry's atrium didn't affect him, he didn't even notice it. It was weird, for everything to go from wonderful one moment, to irrevocably horrible, for light to come for a second, just to be snuffed out. Harry didn't snap out of his stupor until the Gringotts owl landed in front of him during breakfast the day before end of term.

Harry grabbed the letter and was about to open it until the barn owl pecked at him. "What is your problem?" The barn owl didn't look amused, but flew off, nevertheless. "Bloody bird." Harry pocketed the letter, deciding to open it in his dorm later. As he went through his day, he didn't notice the odd looks he drew from Ron and Hermione. They'd realized that he'd woken up but didn't know how to reach him anymore. It's like his eyes were open to the rest of the world, but when it came to them, he was blind as a bat.

When Harry got to his dorm, he pulled the curtains around his bed and immediately sat down, casting a silencing charm around himself. He broke the seal open, revealing the letter inside.

-Your presence is not requested but required at Gringotts tomorrow before the sun meets the horizon. Failure to do so will result in a closure of all accounts within Gringotts will be frozen, and you will be unable to make a withdrawal.
Yours Sincerely,
King Ragnuk the Eighth-

A closure of his accounts? What did Harry do for them to require his presence, and earn himself a summons from the King of Goblins, nonetheless?

Harry went to sleep that night, a plan to slip past the Dursleys already forming in his head.

After breakfast, Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express. He didn't know why, but Harry knew that if he sat with Ron and Hermione today, he would only get a migraine. As soon as he got inside of the train, he weaved through the crowd, faster than Hermione and Ron together could make it. He reached an empty compartment, placed Hedwig in the overhead compartment, his trunk below him, sat down, and pulled his hood over his face. Sure enough, ten seconds later, Hermione and Ron quickly made their way past him. Harry laughed? Under his breath, he whispered "Do they really think I'm that dumb?". He already knew the answer, and the answer was yes, yes in fact they did think he was that dumb.

Harry knew he'd encouraged it with his grades and lack of study ethic, but that was the point. If they underestimated him, he could pull off a lot more, with much less worry about the result. He sat himself in the corner, facing the door.

Five minutes later, a Slytherin walked in and sat across from him. The immediately pulled out a book and sat down with his legs crossed. Before too long, another Slytherin came to join her housemate in reading. She had green eyes and light blonde hair. Moments after she sat down, the train lurched to a start, moving along the tracks.

After a few hours, it seemed that they'd finally tired from their books. "Why did you sit in here when it was empty except for me, a Gryffindor, The Gryffindor?" The boy jumped at his voice, but the girl just studied him like he was a potions ingredient that hadn't reacted the way she'd expected.

"I sat in here because I wanted to get away from Malfoy and his goons, they're bloody fucking gits sometimes." Harry couldn't help himself; he chuckled. "I came in here because you two weren't talking and didn't look like you'd start talking anytime soon." Harry nodded, that's probably why she gave him that look in the first place, she hadn't expected him to talk.

"I came in here to ditch Hermione and Ron. For being the "Golden Trio", they can be annoying, overbearing, and just all-around gits." The girl remained expressionless, but the boy made a face like he was holding back a laugh. Harry figured that the poor boy probably didn't think that he, of all people, would find an intelligent, condescending lady and an idiotic, moronic quidditch superfan frustrating. I mean, a few years ago and he probably would have laughed at that statement, too.

"My name is Daphne Greengrass, heir to the Ancient and Noble house Greengrass." Her tone was snipped toward the end, like she expected her position to be taken at any time and by anyone.

"I'm Theodore Nott." His voice sounded like he was swallowing something that tasted particularly bad when he said Theodore. "Please call me Theo, though." Harry nodded. His own name was just a nickname of his full one-Harrison.

"I'm Harrison Potter, but please just call me Harry." The gir-Daphne's eyes raised when he said Harrison, and Theo went open-mouthed. They probably weren't expecting that Harry was only his nickname, but that was understandable. If they'd called him that when he was four, he probably would've asked who they were talking about.

The three sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in their minds. That was until the trolly came around. Harry got up, asking for a little bit of everything. He did not want a repeat of his first train ride, buying the whole cart. He'd never admit it, but it'd made him sick for days. Daphne got up after him, asking for some Pumpkin Pasties. Theo ended up grabbing a few Chocolate Frogs, losing a few of them due to his lack of coordination.

For about an hour there was dead silence. Theo went back to his book, leaving Harry to wonder if the person he'd met had been the real Theo, or the Theo that was a mask to strangers and acquaintances. Daphne opened a notebook, and started writing, looking up every so often to make sure that Harry wasn't reading what was being written. Harry was thinking and finalizing his idea to slip the Dursleys. He couldn't risk losing his money in the wizarding world, because that would mean that he couldn't afford to attend Hogwarts. When they were nearing the station, he pulled on a plain white hoodie and some blue jeans.

All too soon and none too late, the train pulled to a stop at King's Cross Station. Harry grabbed Hedwig and his trunk as quickly as he could and rushed for the exit. He didn't want to take the chance of Ron and Hermione spotting and/or running into him. He hurried out of the magical barrier, pulling the hood of the hoodie down over his face, looked down, and made sure the Hedwig was tucked away behind his luggage, out of sight. Glancing up, he saw the Dursleys to his right, and in turn veered to his left.

Soon, he was out of the station and by the street. He pulled out his wand after checking to make sure no muggles were watching, then called the Knightbus. The ride was quick and heart-wrenching as they whizzed around towards the Leaky Cauldron. He paid Stan the fare and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He made his way to Tom.

"Hey, Tom, can I get a room for the summer? Just need it to the beginning of term." Tom looked up at Harry's face, his scar, and back down again. "O' course, now your room'll be the last door 'n to the right." "Thank you, Tom. Oh, and also, can this be between the two of us, wouldn't want anybody to know where I am right now, with all that's happening with You-Know-Who." Harry knew that fear of the name only encouraged fear of the being, but he wasn't stupid enough not to realize that there was a taboo on the name.

"I swear on my magic that I won't tell another living soul, a painting, patronus, or use other means of communication to inform about Harry Potter's location or state of living at the Leaky Cauldron. Does that work for you, 'arry?" Harry smiled "'course it does Tom. Thank you for the reassurance."

Harry got to his room and unpacked his belongings and uncaged Hedwig. "Here you go, girl." Harry opened the window, letting Hedwig fly out to hunt her food. Harry steeled his nerves, making his way to the back of the shop and tapping the proper bricks.

The first thing that Harry realized was how weird Diagon Alley was when it wasn't a rush to get supplies for Hogwarts. The second thing that hit him was that he was here because of something serious, and not because he needed something for his education. He'd never come here for any other reason, at least not that he could remember off the top of his head.

As Harry made his way down the alley and towards Gringotts, he felt like he was being watched from all angles. As soon as he walked into the bank, the feeling left him. The immediate shift made him nervous. If he only felt he was being watched in the open, what did that mean?

Taking a deep breath, he made his way to the first Teller he saw.

"Hello," looking at the nametag "Ripfang, I was told I had to be here by King Ragnuk the Eighth. Would you escort me to him, I'm not sure where I would meet him."

Ripfang smiled, a smile full of sharp teeth. "Of course, Mr. Potter, it'd be my pleasure." Something about the goblin's tone made Harry's skin crawl, but he knew better than to argue with the goblin while in the bank, or out of it, for that matter.

They walked through the halls of the bank, so many twists and turns that Harry got lost a quarter way through the journey. Finally, they came in front of a giant door stretching from the ground, nearly reaching the ceiling. "Here you are, just knock." Before Harry could ask anything, Ripfang left.

With no other option, being as hopelessly lost as he was, Harry knocked. After the third knock there was a sound that soundly vaguely welcoming on the other side of the door. As he reached for the handle, the doors opened. "Come in, Mr. Potter."

Chapter Text

Harry was met with the face of a goblin. He bowed to the goblin, figuring since the goblin was a king, he should follow the customs that he was aware of (even if they were muggle customs). The king's many sharp teeth were bared, his hands clasped together, and the room more spacious than definitively necessary.

"I do believe that we have been attempting to summon you for five years to date, and you have finally deigned to grace us with your presence only under threat of loss of currency. That says something about moral character, does it not?" Harry was confused. Five years? Is that why the owl was so annoyed, why the summons wasn't a request but a requirement? Either way, he was here now, and he had to walk on eggshells to not make a dangerous enemy.

"King Ragnuck, I have not received any prior summoning notices, to my knowledge. I apologize if that's hard to believe, but I have not. Is there some way to check for interception or external forces that may be at work here?" The goblin king sneered. Harry figured that Ragnuck thought he was lying, trying to make an excuse to save his skin.

"I'll do a scan, but be warned, if it is showed that you have been willingly annoyed our numerous attempts to summon you, you will become an enemy of the goblin nation. We do not take being lied to or cheated very lightly." Harry could feel sweat gathering on his palms, even though he'd done nothing wrong, and the foreign magic surround his body. Ragnuck spoke something in Gobbledok, every once in a while, stopping to look up at Harry and make sure he hadn't attempted to conceal anything. After a few tense seconds, Harry felt the foreign magic leave, letting him catch his breath.

"It seems you haven't been lying to me after all. But do not expect to be in our good graces, you are still a wizard." The venom with which the king said the word wizard, you'd have figured it was an awful curse, only to be said to the worst of people. And perhaps it was, to the goblins. "Your letters from Gringotts are being redirected, illegally might I add, to one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Isn't that interesting? Nonetheless, there was another reason you were called here. Sirius Black's will has listed you as one of the beneficiaries. He left behind instructions to read the will to you first, and alone. The people around you are interesting Mr. Potter, but I've yet to see if you are interesting."

Harry didn't have time to process the information before Ragnuck called Ripfang to escort him to the Inheritance Chambers. When Harry saw Ripfang, the goblins face was full of disbelief. Harry figured that Ripfang hadn't expected him to leave the meeting alive. He is a wizard, after all.

"The Inheritance Chambers are further inside the establishment, try not to get lost again." Harry was lost before the even turned the corner.

When they got to the Inheritance Chambers, Ripfang abandoned Harry once again, leaving him to knock. Right as he raised his hand toward the door, it opened, revealing a female goblin staring up at him.

"Are you going to come inside or are you going to stand there like the moronic wizard you probably are?" She motioned for him to come inside, and Harry obliged. He could tell that this goblin's fury would match Molly Weasley's easily, possibly even outpacing it. "Now, lay down on this stone platform here. I'm going to prick your finger, drain a few drops of blood, and then heal it. The platform is there to equalize any potions in your body, not including potion-adjacent substances like basilisk venom, phoenix tears, the sort."

As she moved to the other side of the room, Harry moved towards the platform, wondering what this had to do with the reading of Sirius' will. Even thinking his name sent a pang of hurt through Harry. As if reading his mind "The will reading has to be done after all parties have proven themselves to be whom they claim. For example, if you were actually Xavier Knottingham, you would be executed for treason because you were trying to take the inheritance and properties of Harrison Potter."

So the goblins know Harry's full name. That was helpful information to have.

"Lay down and try not to flinch. It's not pleasant if there are any potions in your body, even those as common as a Pepper-Up potion."

Harry laid on the platform and immediately had to bite down on his tongue to keep from screaming out. His insides felt like they were burning on fire from the inside out. He could only take it for a few seconds before passing out cold.

When Harry woke up, the goblin was moving around to his left. "You passed out for about seven minutes and eighteen seconds. Give it about two minutes, and we'll have your results. They will show houses that you have claim over. It will not list the properties included, monetary amount of each account, and how you attained each lordship. It is simply a test to ensure that you are exactly who you say you are."

Harry sat up, groaning at the pain in his torso as he went to get up. He could actually hear a laugh from the goblin. She was finding his predicament amusing.

"Here are your results, read them over, I'll bring the rings in so that you can formally accept each lordship."

She walked out of the room, leaving Harry along with the list.

--Harrison James Arnold Potter--

Lord of the Most Ancient House Potter

Lord of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Peverell

Lord of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Black

Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House Slytherin

Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House Gryffindor

Lord of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Ravenclaw

Harry blinked at the page. He'd expected Potter, maybe Black, but never Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Peverell. He could understand Slytherin, as he had bested Voldemort several times already. As he thought more about it, the gobliness entered the room.

"Here are your Lordship rings. They'll either accept you or kill you. There is not an in between." That didn't make Harry nervous at all (note the sarcasm).

The goblin set the rings down on the platform in order that they appeared on the sheet, Potter, Peverell, Black, Slythering, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw. Harry moved the other end of the platform, where the Potter ring lay. He carefully grabbed it from the box and placed it on his left pointer finger. As the ring slid to the bottom of his finger, he felt a warmth spread through him. He felt the ring's magic accept him, bringing along with it the feeling of home, at least he thought it did. The Dursley's never felt much like a home with the closest things he had to gifts the constant beatings, and the closest thing to friends the spiders that shared his cupboard.

Brushing away the thoughts, he grabbed the Peverell ring, sliding it onto his finger right above the Potter ring. As it hit the top of the Potter ring, Harry felt the feeling of a cold, icy temperature filling him. He felt as though he'd forgotten to wear anything but shorts and a t-shirt in a blizzard and was only just now noticing it. But as quickly as the feeling had come, it left. What it left was this hollow feeling as the ring itself merged with the Potter ring, showing both House Crests.

Moving onto the next ring and hoping for the best, Harry grabbed the Black ring. He slid it onto his finger and closed his eyes. Instantly, he felt like he was playing tug-of-war with himself, constantly struggling to keep holding onto his sense of humanity. The must be a taste of the infamous Black Insanity. With one final mental tug, Harry pulled the middle of the rope to his side, ending the fighting. The Black ring merged with the Potter and Peverell rings, still managing to show the House Crests.

The next ring was the one that Harry was undoubtedly the most nervous for, but at the same time, he wasn't worried at all. It was an oxymoron, a contradiction if you will. Taking a deep breath, Harry slipped the ring onto his finger. Suddenly his arm felt like he was being impaled by the fang of the basilisk again. He grit his teeth to keep from calling out. After several agonizing minutes, the Slytherin ring faded and melded into the rest of the rings.

The second-to-last ring was the Gryffindor ring, and it was a stark contrast to the Slytherin's silver ring inlaid with jade and emerald. The ring itself was made with gold and inlaid with ruby and red sapphires. Nearly immediately after sliding the ring onto his hand, it merged with the rest of the rings, leaving Harry with this weird and empty feeling of false anticipation and worry.

Finally, but not least, it was the Ravenclaw ring. The bronze and sapphire ring was the least complicated, and yet the most intimidating of the bunch. It made him feel like he was insignificant and unimportant in everything and anything. Steeling his nerves one final time, Harry grabbed the ring deftly and carefully. He placed it on his finger and braced himself. Harry didn't know what he was expecting, but her knew that he wasn't expecting his brain to feel like it was about to explode. He felt like he had just absorbed all the knowledge and facts from an encyclopedia in one go.

Harry couldn't help it; he had to put his head on his hands. Letting out a silent scream, Harry waited for the pain to die down. After countless eternities, Harry's wishes were fulfilled. Harry sat on the ground, tired and covered in cold sweat.

"Well, it seems you are who you claim to be, Harrison." Harry let out a humorless chuckle "I shall call the Willreader, try not to injure yourself, it would be a shock to the 'Reader. He is one of the only goblins I know to get squeamish at the sight of blood." The gobliness let out a laugh that chilled Harry to the bone, making her way out of the doors and into the hallway.

Harry didn't know how long had passed, but it felt like another round of countless eternities. Only this time the eternities were accompanied by boredom instead of pain. None too soon, the doors opened and a goblin walked through.

"Hello, may name is Fanghook, and I am your Willreader. Now, let's get started."

Chapter Text

Fanghook wasted no time, immediately grabbing a chair from somewhere or another and pulling the will out from a magical compartment hidden somewhere in his suit.

"Now, where were we? Ah, yes, the will!" Fanghook looked down at the will like it was his first time seeing it. It threw Harry off, as he'd expected the will-reading to go much differently to how it was going now. "Let's see, "I, Sirius Orion Black in good health and good mind, have written this will and testimony.""

"I leave heirship and lordship of the House Black to one Harrison (Harry) Potter. If he does not claim the lordship, it is to be passed onto my cousin Andromeda Tonks, who is to be brought back into the family and restored as a member of the House of Black.

To Harry, I leave 12 Grimmauld Place. Have fun with Kreacher, and do destroy that painting of my mother, m'kay? I leave you the Black bank account, no matter if you do or don't claim Lordship, and it is vault 06 at Gringotts.

Now, the reason I had this part read to you alone is because I want to give you some advice that I don't trust that you'll be able to follow if someone is there with you. That someone is Dumbledore. He knew that Peter Pettigrew was the secret keeper, could've gotten me out of Azkaban anytime that he liked. Pay attention to him while you're at Hogwarts, I have a sinking suspicion that there's been tampering with your food in the ways of potions. Keep a neutralizer on you at all times, just in case. There are some people you can trust, though. I don't think that Moony knows, grief-stricken as he was after James and Lily. I'm not sure about Molly with how loyal she is to Dumbledore.

Anyway, my final gift are the memories that I have stored that contain James and Lily. I've got both happy and sad memories. I hope this helps you feel like you got to know your parents better, since you never had the chance. Stay good and healthy for me, Prongslet, okay?"

Harry was left to deal with many different emotions. He was over-the-moon excited and touched because of the memories, but he was also grappling with betrayal from two of the figures he thought that he could trust more than anyone else. If Dumbledore could've gotten Sirius out at any time, why didn't he stop him from being sentenced? What was the purpose of leaving Sirius to rot for over a decade?

The questions accompanied Harry through his walk back home, absentmindedly offering a goodbye to the goblins. As he got back to the Leaky Cauldron, he looked at the patrons and ensured no one that he knew was there. When he saw that, he made eye-contact with Tom the barkeeper and headed upstairs to his room. He laid on his bed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering about his next step. What would he do?

After a few minutes, Harry convinced himself to do his homework. The sooner he got that out of the way, the sooner he could focus on other things.

His potions assignment was idiotic and hilarious. "How could basilisk venom be used in potions?" What was that for an assignment? Basilisk venom is too volatile to be used! Harry figured that was the point. Writing that down, he continued on. "If one did somehow discover a way to use basilisk venom in a potion, it could be used to strengthen the more deadly potions and poisons. Basilisk venom is very rare, however. Would you like me to take you down to the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve some so that you can experiment? I'd be more than happy to do so, Professor."

Harry knew it wasn't the assigned six inches, but he figured that there wasn't enough to write about for it to be six inches anyway. It's more than he usually gave. Usually he left it at nothing, and if Snape took him up on the offer to go down to the Chamber of Secrets, oh well. Not like the basilisk's corpse was being used for much, anyway.

He put his paper to the side, letting the ink dry. That was his least favorite part of the wizarding world, having to wait for ink to dry. It was idiotic that they refused to use muggle technology, even when it would benefit them and make their lives easier.

Harry moved onto the Transfiguration assignment, then the Charms, then DADA, and finally Herbology. His elective courses hadn't given him any homework, as there was little-to-no guarantee that he would actually choose to take their classes again next year. Once all the assignments were finished, Herbology about a quarter inch short of the assigned work. Professor Sprout wasn't particularly strict, so Harry wasn't really worried about it.

When he looked outside the window, the sun was nearly down, and the light was fading quickly. He put his papers aside to let them dry and Harry went to lay down on his bed. He was asleep before he hit the pillow.

When he woke up, he went over to his papers to make sure he wouldn't have to redo any of them. When he saw them all dry and in perfect condition, Harry let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't particularly wanted to redo everything he had spent his time doing yesterday. With his homework out of the way, Harry made his way downstairs.

Sitting down at a table, Harry ordered Eggs Benedict. When he finished eating his breakfast, he made his way over to Tom. "Hey, Tom, if I use magic here can the Ministry tell?"

Tom glanced around before leaning over the counter. "They won't be able to tell, now, don't tell anyone or my job and business could be seized."

With that, Tom went back to drying the dishes from last night's dinner rush. Receiving the answer he'd been hoping for, Harry made his way back into the Ally. From there, he immediately went to Flourish & Blotts. Harry knew that he was a wizarding Lord, but he didn't exactly know what that entailed.

Making his way inside, the bell above the door ringing as he walked in, he weaved through the shelves looking for anything that may be of use. "How to Brew Potions, Different Material Prepping Techniques for Beginners, Meaningless Spells to Make You Laugh." Harry continued on, muttering and mumbling the names of the books he passed under his breath. He finally got to the Lordship section and made his way to the counter. On the way there, a book caught Harry's eye.

When Harry got to the counter, he placed several books about Lordship and Heirship, the second to avoid suspicion, Different Material Prepping Techniques for Beginners, and The Gifted's Guide to Wandless Magic. The witch behind the counter rang all the books up, totaling the books to seven galleons and three knuts. After paying, Harry stepped out into the street. As he made his way back toward the Leaky Cauldron, he stopped at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

He opened the door and, instead of setting off a bell, set of a firework that made the shape of a bell in the air. From up the stairs, he saw Fred and George lean over the banister and look at him. Before Harry knew what was happening, they rushed to him and one of them hugged him, the other looking him over twice, as if to make sure he was really there.

"What's gotten into you two?" Harry was confused, thoroughly and utterly confused. He'd never known the twins to be emotional, and he didn't expect them to start now.

"The Order thought you'd gotten captured by Voldemort. You didn't show up on or off the Hogwarts Express, so everyone thought the worst. I have to tell mum!"

Before Fred could run upstairs, Harry grabbed his wrist, still being clung to by George. "Don't. Trust me, I'm fine and I've read Sirius' will, I'll be better off if you don't tell her."

"Are you okay? Have you gotten a fever all of sudden?" Harry chuckled.

"No, I'm fine. I'm staying with someone who has sworn on their magic that they won't betray my whereabouts. Otherwise, I'm about as safe as I can be. Don't worry about it, okay?" Fred was still worried, but Harry could see that the lines of his face relaxed the more and more Harry said. "Also, I gave Ron and Hermione the slip because, as much as I love them (platonically, y'all), they can be a lot. They were too much to deal with that day, so."

The twins couldn't help it, they laughed, and George fell on his ass because he laughed so hard, he let go of Harry. "Alright then, 'arry! We'll keep you whereabouts a secret as well! Now, you going to buy something or are you just going to stand there?"

When Harry got back to his room in the Leaky Cauldron, he was weighed down by his books and a truckload of candies. He looked at the one that made hair and skin tone change color for four hours and considered his options. Deciding not to risk it right now, Harry pulled out his wandless magic book. If he could do wandless magic accidentally when he was little, what was stopping him from doing it now, when he had more control and know-how of what he was doing?

Harry opened the book to the Table of Contents before turning the page seven times. There was the first spell that he would try.

"Here goes nothing."

Chapter Text

"Lumos." Harry's hand sparked but did not light. Still, he was grateful that he at least seemed to have an affinity for the art.

"Lumos." The spark held for a few seconds, growing in intensity for a few small moments before going out. It was a far cry from the easily maintained light from the end of a wand, but it was enough for Harry to convince himself to keep trying.

After the fifth failed attempt, Harry took a break and read the book.

-Wandless magic is often viewed as impossible or improbably, but it is simply visual. In your mind, envision what you want to achieve. It is necessary that you visualize the process as well as the result, otherwise the spell may have unintended effects. Over time the spells will get easier, and you will no longer have to visualize the process, only the end result. The more complicated the spell, the harder it is to visualize.

The other reason many find wandless magic near-impossible is because you don't have a focus or medium. Your magic is just pure and unguided. To counteract this, you have to focus on your magic and feel how it moves and shifts to fit your needs, requirements, and wants. -

Harry set the book down, satisfied in the knowledge absorbed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, picturing a ball of light that was constant in its intensity of light. Focusing his magic on that result, he let the magic flow from him and take shape.

Suddenly, he could feel a shift in light from behind his eyelids. Opening his eyes slowly, there was a bright light in the palm of his hand. Focusing on making the intensity of the light, Harry slowly dimmed the light until he could comfortably open his eyes. Looking around, Harry saw that Hedwig was looking at him like he had just offended her bloodline. Maybe he had in one way or another.

Either way, Harry extinguished the light saying "Knox." The counter came easier than the charm itself.

Harry repeated this several times before collapsing on his bed.

For the next few weeks, Harry repeated this process, adding new spells in every once in a while. Eventually, Hary got to a point where he could cast Lumos nearly thoughtlessly and could now cast Wingardium Leviosa without much difficulty. Making his way to the Ally, Harry passed different patrons of the Leaky Cauldron. Some of them looked at him weird, but most looked like they could care less who he was. That thought was comforting, knowing there were some people who could pass him without making a scene of it.

When Harry got to the Ally, he headed to Gringotts to make a withdrawal. The goblins had gotten nicer, even if it was only marginally so.

"Hello, Teller Ironfist, I would like to visit vault 06 to make a withdrawal."

Ironfist looked up from the paperwork on his desk and made eye contact with Harry. Holding out his hand palm up, Ironfist told Harry to give him the key. After doing so, Ironfist escorted Harry to the Gringotts cart. "In you go! Do try to hold your food in."

They whizzed through the tunnels, gaining momentum with every turn. Before too long, they reached the waterfall. After passing through and making their way down further, Harry reached his vault. His vault was one of the few being guarded directly by the dragon, so Ironfist toed the line, not daring get too close. Harry did not share the same reservations, making his way straight through the center of the circle.

Ironfist stared at him like he'd grown a second head. Harry reached his vault before Ironfist, waiting for the goblin to make his way over. Soon enough, the vault was opened, and Harry was faced with a mountain of galleons taller than the Leaky Cauldron. One of the first things he'd done as Lord was moving all finances to vault 06.

Harry filled a bag full of as many galleons as possible before reboarding the cart. Once out of the bank, Harry started making his way back down the alley. He mentally went through his checklist of necessities for the upcoming school year. At the top of the list were books, followed by new robes, and finally new potions ingredients.

When he'd gotten in line at Flourish & Blotts with his books, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"It's his fault if he's being a bloody git, you know what Dumbledore said. He has to trust us, or we could lose our payment. You know that's the only thing that really keeps our family out of bankruptcy." So, Ron did know how to use big words. That was news to Harry. "Don't be stupid! If he doesn't want to talk, there's nothing we could do about it. Plus, it's much more likely he's avoiding everyone for attention, I mean, think about it. If Voldemort had Harry, he'd be gloating about it, and the wizarding world would be forever changed. But that hasn't happened yet. So, quit your whining and go find you books."

Harry was next in line for buying books. Once he was making his way out of the door, Harry ducked his head down, careful to avoid Hermione and Ron's eyes. He didn't want to risk them noticing that it was him. Avoiding detection, Harry speedwalked through the Alley. Once he got to his bed, he let himself release a breath he'd been holding. He knew he'd have to see them some time with the new school year coming up, but he had not prepared himself mentally for that to happen yet.

Harry flipped through the new Charms book, seeing what caught his eye. Of any spells, the nonverbal spell communication is what drew him the most. He'd already been practicing wandless magic, why not wordless magic, too? Reading the summary, Harry closed his eyes. Focusing heavily on focus and intended result, Harry made the motion for Lumos with his hand. Feeling the light shift, he opened his eyes. It was a shade dimmer than usual, but it was still there.

Harry's eyes widened at the implications. If he could do wandless and wordless magic, what door wasn't open to him? Harry resolved to continue his research of the matter later.

Going downstairs, Harry sat down and pulled out a menu. He didn't need the menu anymore, but it was comforting to have it just in case something had been added since he had last read it. Once his food was brought out and his menu was taken, Harry began to eat. Halfway through his dinner, a question made him freeze. "Harry?"

Harry mentally cursed himself for not taking care to disguise himself before he left the safety of his room. Turning around in his chair, Harry came face-to-face with Ginny Weasley. For whatever reason, she didn't attract him in quite the same way that she once had. Before Harry had a chance to swallow the mouthful and respond, Ginny rushed in to give him a hug.

"Oh, you're alive! This is wonderful! I have to go tell mum!" Harry wasn't able to stop her from running off. As quickly as he could, Harry shoveled the rest of his food in his mouth and rushed upstairs to his room. He missed the Weasley entourage by only a few seconds, leaving them to claim the Ginny was hallucinating.

Once settled back in his room and certain that no one was going to barge in unannounced and uninvited, Harry pulled the chair out from in front of his desk. Settling down in his desk, Harry pulled out Hogwarts A History. He'd bought it a week or so back and had yet to touch it. Opening it to the first page, Harry flipped until he got to the first page with any information beyond the Table of Contents. The first section was titled "The Lords of Hogwarts". Despite the title of the section, it was not about the Lords of the Houses of Hogwarts themselves, but instead about Lords that attended Hogwarts. Harry found this passage particularly helpful. It stated that Lords were given the right to request a resorting if a good enough reason is provided.

Deciding to pen a letter before the train of thought left the station named "Harry's Head", Harry wrote down his letter, sealed it in an envelope, tied it loosely to Hedwig's leg, and opened the window for her.

Out she flew, and soon she was nothing but a dot in the cloudy sky.

Elsewhere, the Hogwarts Board of Governors was meeting to discuss possible new policies for the upcoming school year. From above, a snowy owl swooped down and delivered a letter to the leader of the Board. Opening the letter, he let out a chuckle. He had to give the writer credit, it was well thought out and well worth its merit. Who knows, it might just stir up some of the chaos that they all knew Hogwarts didn't need right now.

Back with Harry, Hedwig returned to a room with a sleeping boy and sparse furniture. Tucking her head under her wing and standing on her perch, she decided to join her master in the realm of slumber.

Chapter Text

It turns out that ao3 logged me out of my account as I'd finished the chapter, and I hadn't realized. I went to post it, and it didn't save. I didn't have it copied, so I lost the chapter I just spent an hour on. This means that I'm going to miss posting today, and I'm so, so sorry! I'll try to post two chapter tomorrow to make up for it.