Creature Comforts (h.p.)

5

"Meqik, why in this form do my tail and horns appear smaller?" He asked curiously. The goblin assessed him briefly.

"The magic from your phoenix inheritances is much older and more powerful. They have been present from birth, hence the feathers, and already fully grown. The wyvern magic has only been awakened for a year, and fully suppressed in that time. It will act like a new inheritance and that part of you will grow in bit by bit as it would have done had you received it on your fifteenth birthday, like you should have." Harry frowned.

"But in the huge form I was in, everything seemed fully grown – am I going to get bigger than that?!"

"Oh, I'm sure you could grow further if you so wished to. Your power goes further than that size; it was merely what was convenient at the time. And I believe that when working in harmony with your phoenix blood, the wyvern receives a boost of energy that allows it to act in the manner of a fully developed inheritance so it works smoothly with the phoenix inheritances." Harry mulled it all over. He found it rather fascinating; it was something Hermione would find interesting as well. His stomach lurched at the thought of his female friend. Was she in on all of this? He had no idea the full extent of what was actually going on, he realised. To what extent did Dumbledore's manipulations reach? What were the man's true intentions?

Hermione's was the only vault paying money back into his vaults. That was something. But if she was in on all of it, and was on his side, why wouldn't she tell him? He knew she was the trustworthiest of the lot. And he was trying not to think about Ron, or Ginny; their betrayal was a lot to swallow. He decided to contact Hermione as soon as possible.

Sitting down in the same plush chair, Meqik began to speak once more.

"Now, of course, we must discuss properties in your name. Judging by the look on your face, I can safely assume you weren't aware of these properties," Meqik said dejectedly, scanning Harry's face. He shook his head. "Well, you have ownership of the Potter manor, number 12 Grimmauld place and shares in a small apothecary in Diagon Alley. You need not a key for number 12 grimmauld place, but the keys to the other two properties are in the Potter family and business vaults. Would you like to collect them?" Harry was shocked and excited.

"Yes, of course!" And so they began walking once more.

"You ought to know, Harry, that having gone through all of your inheritances, you are legally of age in the eyes of the ministry. You are legally permitted to perform magic away from school, or live alone," Meqik mentioned as they walked to a vault after getting out of the cart. Harry's eyes widened.

"You mean.. I don't have to go back there?" He asked joyfully. The goblin scowled.

"I would have made damn sure of that, regardless. But no, you do not. You can stay in one of your properties if you so wish, or even purchase a new one."

Their conversation fell short as they reached a large expanse of wall with the number 984 in gold written at goblin eye-level. Meqik stroked his gnarled hand gently on the stone, and it melted away. Harry gasped.

Inside were unimaginable riches; not just galleons, sickles and knuts, but stacks of gold, piles of precious gems and expensive jewellery. These weren't all that drew harry's eye, though. In one corner sat a long shelf of books, neatly categorised and alphabetised. A large display of fencing swords, regular flat-bladed swords and various daggers lined the far wall. A whole menagerie of magical artefacts were scattered about.

"this is the family vault, Harry. take what you wish. The key to the Potter manor is on the small hook to your left." Harry turned to his left, spotting a tarnished ring hanging from a hook on the wall. He gently unhooked it and went to put it in his pocket when he noticed the sweatpants he was wearing didn't have any. Meqik approached him holding an odd leather pouch.

"this is a complementary item offered to all important vault holders. It carries as many items as you want." Harry eagerly accepted the pouch, making sure to thank Meqik profusely before he ventured into the vault. He scooped an amount of galleons into the pouch to top up the amount of money he carried, and then made his way to the blade display. He eyed every one in detail, mesmerised by the designs on the handles and the sheen of the metal. Some came with little tags explaining what the weapon did – if it carried poison, or set fire to its targets, et cetera. He decided to take a few irresistible blue daggers that came in a set, and unhooked a rather beautiful red-handled sword with a Gryffindor lion carved into it. He would have some free time when he was living on his own- why not spend it wisely?

Going over to the bookshelf, he scanned the titles carefully. Under the labelled section 'inheritances', he found books linking to many different creature inheritances. He recalled Meqik's comment about the Potter line being infamous for carrying many creature bloodlines. Guess he was right. Harry located several books on different phoenix inheritances, and found a single book on wyverns. He picked several other creature books that piqued his interest before going along the shelves further. He pulled a book here and there, placing all of them In the small pouch. When he was done he spared the vault a final sweeping glance, before returning to Meqik's side.

"All done," he said. Meqik nodded.

"Would you like to visit the other vaults, or stop now?"

"I'd like to go to the Black family vault, but aside from that I'm rather tired." They got back into the shuddering cart, delving deeper into the depths of Gringotts. Harry was tempted to outstretch his wings in the buffeting wind, but the terrifying outcome would not be desired.

The Black family vault was similar to the Potter family vault, but it held a much darker air to it. The weapons that adorned the walls were much more terrifying in appearance – decorated with spikes where spikes should not be, for instance. The book collection was mainly on incredibly dark magic. He chose to ignore all of it spare a small black poisoned dagger with an exquisite sheath, and a book on creature mates. He made his way out with Meqik and once they were back in his office, they discussed the boy's next actions.

"I would quite like to stay at potter manor, if that's possible. I need to get my belongings, though. I must return to the Dursleys's for that." The goblin gave a short nod.

"I suggest that your relatives were working with Dumbledore, so it may be advisable to place glamours on you. As for going to your old house, I suggest an escort to ensure things don't get... out of hand. While I would help you there, I have a large stack of paperwork to work through and find myself largely occupied for the rest of today. I believe madam Pomfrey will be available if you are comfortable with it." At Harry's nod, Meqik pushed some parchment pieces to Harry, and stood from his chair to approach the fireplace. "Those are yours to do whatever you wish with. I will be on floo call for a minute or two." Harry glanced down to the paper, and saw they were the blood documents detailing his blocks, inheritances and vaults. On the list of blocks, every item on the list had '(BROKEN)' next to its name.