Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Through the Veil and Back Again	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 77508 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (though someone could gift me a few of the men in it and I wouldn't complain) and make no money off of this.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Chapter 21

Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi, who I couldn't work without anymore. Thanks, Tenchi!

Just a reminder of what's on my profile; reviews complaining or whinging about the lack 'o sex in stories will get deleted. If you want a smut-filled romp, you need to find another story to read.

Leaning against Sirius, Harry sipped at his butterbeer and watched as his godfather sorted through the mass of papers that were in front of him. Mostly, he was putting them in piles of what was property and what wasn't. Then, from what he said, he would sort through the properties and see what he had. On his other side was Lucius, who was pouring through a massive leather-bound book that contained the list of Malfoy properties to see what he might have that would work. Lucius had already said he was sure he didn't have anything that they could use, as all his family's properties were too visible and well-known to be utilized for this. Sirius was just at a loss as to what he had as he inherited from a couple of branches of the family he hadn't had any contact with over the years. Honestly, Harry wasn't paying much attention. He was more lost in thought over what was revealed earlier and then that odd dream-like whatever it was with the snake. Though, truthfully, he was sure that it was real. That troubled him even more and made him apprehensive at the same time.

His head came up when he heard Remus mention his name. Focusing in on what was said, he deduced that it was a question for Lucius about if they could get their hands on the list of what Harry was inheriting before his birthday.

Looking down at the table, hand over his mouth, Lucius thought that over then said, “I don't know. Maybe. It's—If Harry had a solicitor we could push for it so they could have an idea what they were working with. However, getting one this late in the game might look suspicious. I'm not sure if there is another way to get his hands on the documentation.” Looking at Harry, he asked, “Have the goblins ever mentioned whether you have more than one vault or anything about properties in meetings you had with them alone?”

Looking at the man, Harry shook his head, “I've never had a meeting with them alone. The first visit was with Hagrid. After that, I went to Gringotts with the Weasleys. The only other time I went alone was right before my third year. None of them said anything to me about other vaults or even about meeting alone.”

Eyebrow arched, Lucius looked at Sirius, who also appeared troubled by that. “Harry,” he said quietly, “something is wrong with that. I'm sure what you're taking money from is the vault set aside for you to use in school. I very much doubt that it's the entirety of your inheritance. I don't know much about your father's estate, but I do know James was the last of the Potters, until you. There were plenty of land holdings when it comes to that.” Looking at Sirius, whose brow was drawn down, he said, “I think we need to get Harry to Gringotts to see what's going on here.” Looking back at the young man, he asked, “Who gave you the key to your vault?”

“Hagrid. He said Professor Dumbledore had it,” Harry told him, looking confused. Glancing around, seeing concerned looks, he asked, “There's something wrong with this, isn't there? All of it?”

“Yeah, there is,” Sirius said, patting him on the back. Shaking his head, he sighed, “And I don't know what either. When you went in the first time, you should have had papers to sign to take over your inheritance. It's just a formality, really, as the goblins have magical ways of knowing who is who and won't be fooled, but it protects them. The standard is also that they suggest you get a solicitor to take over dealing with a dormant vault so it can earn more money than just the interest they pay, one that protects you because you're a minor.”

“Now what to do I do? I didn't know any of that. No one ever told me,” Harry said, looking between the two.

Drumming his fingers on the table, Lucius said, “Let me think here.” After several minutes, he asked, looking down at the table, “Remus, if I could persuade Severus to go with you, would you be willing to go to Gringotts with them? Harry can request a meeting and sign the forms to at least be given a list of what he has in the bank. I'm not sure there is any way to get a full documentation of his assets until he turns sixteen.”

“Of course,” Remus said, voice quiet, a troubled look on his face. “This might not be the best, Lucius. I have no idea what I'm doing in that area. I'll take a flier and say I doubt Severus does either. Harry—that's obvious.”

“I know,” Lucius grumbled, shaking his head. “It's the best we have, though. I can't, for obvious reasons. The goblins would know who I was in seconds. I doubt they would say anything, of course, but the chance is there.”

Sighing, Remus nodded, “Get in contact with Severus. If he agrees, we'll take him.” Lowering his voice, he asked, “What do you think is going on here? I know nothing of this area, but it sounds fishy to me.”

“I don't know,” Lucius said truthfully with a shake of his head. “It's—there is something wrong. This is not the way such accounts are handled. I'm sure there is an official Potter vault somewhere in Gringotts. They would also have papers that Harry had to sign to handle some matters on the estate, like taxes. That couldn't be done without some kind of signature. Which means, either it's not been taken care of, something I doubt, as the Ministry would have stepped in and done something to collect the taxes, or it was handled another way. I'm betting the latter. What that second one may be is something I have no clue about. We need to find out though, for no other reason than to protect Harry's assets.”

Listening to that, Sirius said, shaking his head, eyes wide, “He needs a solicitor here. This is beyond all of us. We'll see what happens and what this visit turns up, but he needs someone to handle this. And I have no idea who to get in contact with to take him to.”

“Let's see what the goblins have to say first,” Lucius told Sirius, looking at him. “I'll put together a list of questions and what they need copies of. Once we get those, we'll judge from there what to do. However, he does need someone here as something, somewhere, is decidedly off. I know a couple of solicitors with a very good reputation that specialize in dealing with estates like this. I'm sure that I can get Harry an appointment with one via owl once we get the information from the visit. They will know who they are dealing with when it comes to me, though I won't sign my name, and will ensure that everything is handled properly.”

Trying to think, not liking what he was hearing, Harry shook his head, looking down. After a minute or so, he asked, “Could it be in a mess because Sirius was my godfather and alive, though not able to take over the duties? Or because my only other relatives were Muggles?”

“No,” Lucius told him gently. “Harry, there are procedures in place to handle such issues. In the case of your relatives, because they were Muggles, a solicitor would have been appointed automatically. The same with the problem arising from Sirius. As you were never told there was one, there is something off here.”

“I don't like this,” Harry said, shaking his head and looking around.

“I don't either,” Sirius told him softly. “Which means we need to figure out what the hell is going on and who did it.”

“Why would no one, anywhere, not have told me about some of this?” Harry asked, looking around.

“For some of us? It comes down to we thought someone had. If I knew they hadn't, I would have said something earlier, Harry,” Sirius told him with a shake of his head. “I think, honestly, some of us didn't realize just how much you weren't told about things you had to know.”

“Harry, we trusted Albus to do the right thing,” Remus told him softly, a troubled look on his face. “I don't know much about this end of dealings as I've never had to concern myself with it. The fact that Hagrid had your key is enough to tell me there is something wrong here. Even I know you should have had to sign for that the first time you went to Gringotts. I never heard about any of this or I would have said something to you or Sirius.”

Letting out a sigh and having a pinched look on his face, Harry slumped, “What in the ruddy hell is going on? And it makes me wonder what else someone's been playing at when it comes to so much.”

Slipping an arm around his godson, Sirius pulled him close then told him, “I don't know, but we need to find out. And I am thinking the same thing here, Harry. Something is rotten, that's for damned sure.”

“We'll figure it out and get it straight,” Lucius told the young man with a pat on his leg, already trying to figure out how to word this to Severus and the list of questions that Harry would need.

Sitting in bed with Sirius as Lucius was in the loo, Harry shook his head then asked, quietly, “Do you have any idea what might be going on here? I mean—it's all strange. Beyond the strangeness that has to do with the bond.”

“I really don't know, Harry. I honestly don't,” Sirius told him with a sigh. “Something is wrong here, we all know that. I just don't have a leaning, anywhere, as to what it might be.” Stopping, Sirius tried to think then shook his head, “I don't know. There is so much shite here and so much that seems wrong. Then there's the fact that it goes so far back. I'm not sure we even have a place to start looking for where it stems from, other than tracing it from Gringotts. There's more, I'd bet my wand on it too.”

Looking down at the bed, Harry thought it over and said, softly, “There's so much that's not making sense here. And it makes me wonder how some things were handled or who handled them. I just don't know any of it, which seems strange to me.”

“Like what?” Sirius asked softly, holding him close.

Leaning back against his godfather, Harry sighed, “An obvious one? Where mum and dad are even buried. No one, anywhere, has told me that. What's up with the house where it all happened. Why Dumbledore had dad's Invisibility Cloak. What happened to all mum and dad's stuff. By that I mean the personal things. I don't know any of this. No one, anywhere, has talked about it. Really, to be honest, I haven't asked either and I didn't think about some of it. With all the rest of the crap that's coming up, I am now and there are no answers here.”

Resting his forehead on Harry's shoulder, holding his godson tight, Sirius mumbled, “They are buried in Godric's Hollow not far from the house. You mean no one, anywhere, thought to even ask to take you there to pay your respects?”

“Never,” Harry told him quietly. “No one's even mentioned it to me. Some I get because they probably thought it might be touchy, what with all that's gone on. The Dursleys weren't going to.”

“Bloody fucking hell,” Sirius sighed. Shaking his head, though not raising it, he told the young man, “Harry, Remus and I thought someone had. We never asked because we assumed that someone, somewhere, would have the common decency to offer or, at the very least, tell you where they were.”

Not sure what to say there, Harry just shut his eyes and let his head drop forward. After several minutes, he asked, softly, “They died to protect me. Why wouldn't anyone offer to take me there so I could finally have something tangible to link to them?”

“I don't know, I really don't,” Sirius told him, lifting his head and holding him tightly. “We'll see what we can do here to get you to see them. Not sure how, but we can try. Let me talk to Arthur. He'll do the right thing when it comes to this.”

“Them I get,” Harry said honestly. “They try to make sure I have a good time when I'm with them. I doubt they would have brought it up to me as it might spoil it.”

“Or they thought that, even as rotten as your aunt and uncle were, they would have done that.” Sirius told him. “That's been the thinking for so much when it comes to you, like shaving and other things. I don't think they can even fathom your relatives wouldn't do this.”

Nodding, Harry said nothing.

“The rest of it? I can honestly say I don't know either. The house—I think, from what Remus has said, is protected and exactly the way it was left that night. There is something on it to keep the curious out and a memorial of some kind in the front. I assume that your parents stuff is all in there still.”

Brow furrowed, Harry asked, “Why would they do that? It's mine. Some of it—it doesn't matter, I know that, and it can stay. Other things I would want. Like pictures and some of the personal stuff. Why did they leave it there and wouldn't protect it?”

“And something else I don't know either,” Sirius admitted, slouching as he did. “It makes no sense.” Looking up at the ceiling, Sirius shut his eyes and slouched further down on the bed, “None of this is making sense. That house is yours to do with what you want. The Wizarding World doesn't own it, at least as far as I know. It was your dad's. One of his anyway. There were more, I know that much.”

Looking up as the bathroom door opened and Lucius came out, Harry sighed, “There are more questions here than we can find answers for.”

“I agree completely,” Sirius told him with a nod. “And I can honestly say I don't know where to even start to get answers for some of them.”

Thinking it over, Harry asked, “Let me start with a simple one here; do you know if mum and dad had a will? I'm not sure there either.”

“They did,” Sirius told him firmly. “With being Aurors and what was going on, we were required to have one for obvious reasons. Lily did as well as she knew the danger they were in.” Lifting his eyes to Lucius when he sat down on the edge of the bed, he said, “And that is one we can easily work with and get our hands on. Those are automatically filed and enacted.”

“They are public record as well,” Lucius told him softly, not sure what was being discussed beyond what he'd overheard since coming out. “Severus can get a copy with ease and it won't have to be revealed who it was sent to. Do I want to ask where this is all coming from? Or is it just going to anger and befuddle more?”

Filling Lucius in, at least with the basics, Sirius told Harry, “Let's start with the wills. That might explain some or give us a direction in which to look. As Snape can manage, we'll do that. Then we'll sort through the rest of the bloody nightmare and see if it leads anywhere.”

“With all else that's going on, do we even need to bother to sort through it? I just want out. Though I'd like answers to some of it, I'd rather get out and not worry about it or figure it out later,” Harry said, looking between the two.

“Some needs handled before we can even take that step,” Lucius told him softly. “Like your finances. That's to protect you, first and foremost. Secondary to that is the fact that we need to see if it's something that can aid in getting us out. Everything beyond that—though answers are something we'd all like, they aren't mandatory. As time goes on, I'm sure we'll get some of them.”

“Alright, I get that. Let's just get the bloody hell out of this mess and be done with it until we have to face it,” Harry said, looking between the two.

“I don't think you're going to get arguments from either of us on that one, Harry,” Sirius chuckled. “We just need to find somewhere to go where we're safe. That's the focus right now.”

“It's going to take time, though,” Lucius admitted softly with a shake of his head. “There is a great deal here to sort through and we have to wait for your portfolio to look through that.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Harry slumped, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. “And that's on top of the rest of this bloody mess.” Stopping a minute, he looked down then added, quietly, “Of which there's something else I need to add to what we know here.” Seeing them nod, he walked them through the 'dream' about the snake. When he finished, he told them, honestly, “It's real. That's the feeling I get. I knew the voice as it sounded familiar in a way.”

Looking down, Sirius said, quietly, “At least this is one chunk we are getting somewhere with. Remus, Narcissa and Draco are coming up with something about it. What we've seen so far doesn't come close to what you just described, but other things match exactly when it comes to what they're searching for.”

Rubbing a hand over his mouth, Lucius asked, gently, “You agreed to let it push for the final one?”

“It's coming anyway,” Harry groused, sighing. “If it gets done faster, it'll help. At least that's what the snake said. I tend to believe it there.” Looking between the two, he admitted, “I have no idea here how that's coming or what's involved. It's got to be better than this nightmare.”

“I tend to agree with that,” Sirius admitted, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. “If it can stop some of this shite, let it happen. Especially since it'll come anyway.”

Looking down at the bed, shaking his head, Lucius added, softly, “Though it's an unknown entity and something strange, I tend to agree as well. The faster we get this done, the more we can press on. And it'll help, especially if the part about the shields is correct. That's the most troublesome of all the issues at the moment. Even the visions aren't that bad.”

“I know,” Harry told him making a sour face. “Some of it I don't understand yet, like it finding its body. The rest—honestly? I can't take much more here. All of this is enough to make you mental and it's getting me there.”

“If it wasn't, we would all be really worried about you, Harry,” Sirius chuckled, shaking his head. “I think it is affecting all of us. Yeah, maybe this is a good idea. Even with the pain promised from it. Then we press on. It might even help. I don't know. It's plenty bad right now, so it should help.”

Snorting at that, grinning, Harry said with a sigh, “Just one day that's free of this mess would be nice. It would give me some down time. I doubt it's going to happen, but I can hope!”

Ruffling Harry's hair, Sirius laughed, “I think we would all like that right about now!” Sobering up, he said, “Let's get some sleep. We're all tired. We'll press on tomorrow and go from there.” Seeing Harry nod, he patted his godson on the back and said, “Go get changed.”

Bailing off the bed, Harry headed for the loo to take care of what he needed to.
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Through the Veil and Back Again