Yuletide Blessing

Ancestry

Harry stepped closer. He grabbed her hands tenderly but firmly and moved them away from her face. "Hermione, you should never be ashamed about your feelings. I'm not yet sure about mine, but I think I'm starting to love you as more than a friend."

She calmed a bit and dared look at him from under lowered eyelashes. Harry smiled at her. "I still don't know where this is going to lead us, but I think I should try and protect my best friend as much as I can. Please take this ring as a token of love and friendship. If it turns into more than this, then this ring will be replaced by an engagement ring and then a wedding band, but even if not – it will give you enough protection to make me feel that you are safer, especially when I'm not near you." He took the ring from his pocket and put it on Hermione's extended finger.

They didn't expect it, but there was a flash and then a circle of light appeared, scanning Hermione just the way Harry had been scanned a bit earlier. It flashed fewer times, though, before disappearing.

"Why don't you try a spell?" Harry said with a smile.

"I'm still underage."

"You're with me, deep under Gringotts. Nobody will mind, I'm sure."

Hermione tried "Lumos" as well, getting almost as bright a light as Harry's, making him smile. "It looks like somebody wanted to restrain your powers as well," he noted. "I'm glad you're wearing this ring now and are protected by it."

Hermione looked at the ring. It seemed much costlier than appropriate for her. She was sure that her parents would frown at such an expensive present, especially coming from someone who didn't even have proper clothes.

"Do you think I can disguise this ring as well?" she asked Harry.

"Try and you will know," he shrugged.

Hermione concentrated for a second and the ring faded. Another second of concentration made it reappear, only now it looked like a simple golden ring with a small semi-precious stone, the kind many young girls buy for pennies.

"Don't you want some money for yourself? You need to buy some clothes, at least," Hermione reminded him.

Harry consulted the vault index and then took some coins from a drawer and put them in a money bag. "I'd rather convert them into Muggle money. There's more variety to choose from and the prices are much lower," he said. Hermione smiled at him.

The ride back was just as shaky, but somehow, maybe due to the new rings, they didn't mind. Harry exchanged most of the coins into Pounds, keeping only a handful in coins for the Hogsmeade weekends.

The Grangers were already waiting. "You're late almost half an hour. What took you so long?" Dave asked.

"The visit at the bank took us much longer than expected," Harry said.

"Yet you found time to visit a jeweller's shop, so it seems," Jean commented.

Both teens blushed. "It's from my vault," Harry said apologetically, "and it's only for Hermione's protection."

"I'd like to hear some more about it," Jean said while urging them forward.

They walked briskly and reached the restaurant they had in mind in about five minutes.

Once they were served, Dave asked, "So, how was your visit at the bank?"

"It was quite fruitful. I found out I had some properties and some money that I've never known about before. I also own a large vault that I'll need much longer to investigate. I only know it has many books and some rare items of value. Some money as well, of course."

"So, you're quite well off," Dave said.

"I believe..." Harry didn't feel like taking about it. He still had to understand what it all meant about him and his life. He didn't want to sound like he was bragging either. Considering what he was wearing, he didn't have a reason to brag.

"Dad, can we spend some time shopping after lunch? Harry needs to buy a new wardrobe, now that he has access to his money. Maybe we can also find a better pair of eyeglasses for him, or even contacts. He may need any advantage he can get during the tournament."

"I'd really like to hear some more about this tournament," Dave commented.

"We'd better talk about it at home," Hermione said firmly, making her parents understand that it was inappropriate at the moment.

They started with his glasses, as whatever direction they decide to go, it was still something that took some time. Harry chose a modern frame for his eyeglasses and had his eyes tested. He also asked to try contacts. It would take another day for his prescription optics to be ready, but even the temporary lenses set in his new frame made the world look clearer.

It was clothes shopping that made Hermione and Jean enthusiastic and made Dave cringe. He saw Harry as an unsuspecting victim of their shopping frenzy.

Hermione tried to take control of their shopping, but Harry stopped her at once. "I need to buy the basics first: underwear, shirts, trousers, socks and shoes. Once I look respectable, we can indulge in more luxurious shopping."

This dampened Hermione's enthusiasm only slightly. She let him shop for underwear without her help, though. She did take an active part in choosing everything else, yet Harry enjoyed the attention and didn't mind even when Jean expressed an opinion. Having people care about him and about what he would be wearing was a new delightful experience for him.

It was quite late when they finally left the store. Despite Harry shrinking some of the early shopping, they still left the store carrying many packages, more than could easily fit in the car's trunk.

"I think I also need to buy some formal clothing. Can we go to London tomorrow and finish with it?" Harry asked his hosts.

"You need to visit the optician anyway, so – yes, we're spending tomorrow at London," Jean answered.

"Then I probably need to buy some formal magical clothing as well, and some belated Christmas presents..."

"Well, we need to dine first. There's a nice restaurant we used to frequent when we were younger. I believe you'll like it too," Jean said.

Dave seemed to know what she was talking about, as he led them to a side street, where an American-style restaurant welcomed them.

Harry enjoyed a large steak. Hermione chose chicken roast and her parents preferred a sea-food dish, although this wasn't the place's speciality. The youngsters also took a chocolate-mousse dessert, with Harry enjoying two servings.

The youngsters were already dozing on the back seat, with Hermione's head resting on Harry's shoulder and his hand wrapping her shoulders, when they arrived home. "Aren't they cute together?" Jean whispered as Dave frowned. She then proceeded to wake them up.

It took some time to unpack everything. Harry observed that he needed a new trunk for all that he had bought and what he intended to buy. He added it to the shopping list for the next day.

Hermione wouldn't give up on a goodnight hug and a kiss. Harry was not as reluctant in kissing her this time, feeling like this was something he really wanted to do. None of them noticed that Jean was watching with a tender smile.

"Maybe I should visit Gringotts again. Magical clothing is much costlier than what we've bought yesterday," Harry commented as they were heading back to London.

Hermione just nodded, feeling quite happy leaning on Harry. She was glad to have finally acted on her feelings. Helping Harry was still her first priority, but finding out that he really liked her was a very nice benefit. She didn't mind too much that he was very rich. It was irrelevant to the way she felt about him.

"I'd like to withdraw five hundred Galleons from my vault," Harry said to the teller.

"Your name?"

"Harry Potter."

The teller lifted his eyes. "Excuse me, Lord Potter. I didn't expect a client of your calibre to wait in queue. Most just go to their account managers." He then checked some parchments on his desk. "It looks like you need to see your account manager anyway. He has some messages for you. Please follow me."

"Is there any problem?" Harry asked Sharptooth as soon as they met.

"Not strictly a problem. We've just found out that your guardian, Dumbledore, had made some transactions in your trust vault which seem questionable. We had nobody to ask until now, but as you're now emancipated, you can decide what to approve and what not."

"Can you elaborate?"

Sharptooth slid a parchment in Harry's direction. "As you can see, there was a monthly payment of 120 pounds to the Dursleys, intended to cover their expenses at keeping and raising you. Can you say that money was used for its intended purpose, at least partially?"

Harry grimaced. "Not at all. I was only fed bits and pieces, never had a full meal since I can remember. They never bought new clothes for me and even my eyeglasses were bought only when the school nurse insisted, and were the cheapest available."

"Well, either Dumbledore or Dursley will have to return the money with interest," Sharptooth commented as if he enjoyed the idea. "Then there's a sum of twenty Galleons monthly which he transferred to the Weasley vault, presumably without their knowledge."

Harry frowned at that. It wasn't right for Dumbledore to take his money in order to help the Weasleys, but he had come to like that family, despite some reservations. He wouldn't like to hurt them. Still, three of the children had already matured and left the house. "Make it only ten from now on," he said pensively. Sharptooth nodded in acknowledgement.

"There are also various sums that were withdrawn irregularly, accumulating to about two hundred Galleons each year. Most were put into the vault of the Order of the Phoenix, which is fully controlled by Dumbledore. Some were given to other people, like Mundungus Fletcher, some ministry officials and a few Muggles."

"That should be stopped and all money redeemed. Dumbledore should have no further access to any of my accounts!"

"He is already removed from access. You are the only one allowed any access to all your vaults," Sharptooth assured Harry.

"I'd like to allow Hermione full access, and her descendants as well."

Hermione was alarmed. "Harry! You can't be serious! Why should you give me any access to your vaults?"

Harry took her hand in his and pointed at her new ring. "Hermione, you mean more to me than any person alive. I trust you with my life. Why should I not trust you with my money?"

Hermione blushed deeply. She lifted her face to Harry, just as he was looking at her with an odd glint in his eye.

Sharptooth cleared his throat, making the youngsters return to reality. "That brings me to the next subject. As Miss Granger is so close to you, we've done some background checks on her. We believe she can benefit going through an inheritance test like the one you did yesterday."

Hermione looked surprised, but shrugged it off. She didn't mind a drop of blood and didn't expect to find anything special in her ancestry.

She was changing her opinion a few minutes later.

Sharptooth was holding the parchment showing her family tree. She could identify the names close to hers, but the farther she looked, the less she could recognize, except for one name at the top of the parchment – Helga Hufflepuff.

"You seem to have a very distinguished ancestry, Lady Hufflepuff. Unlike the Potter line, which was passed through the males of the family, your line was passed through the females. Your maternal great-great grandmother was a witch, yet her daughter was a squib and the magic of the family has stayed hidden for several generations, until you were born. In a way, this is not very unusual. Most muggles can be traced to have at least one magical person in their lineage, just as magicals usually have at least one muggle in their ancestry."

Hermione looked overwhelmed. "What does it mean for me?"

The goblin seemed to enjoy himself. "First of all, as a female Hufflepuff descendant, you are to be emancipated at fifteen. Being the only confirmed descendant, you are the sole heir, making you the owner of some of our oldest vaults, as well as giving you a quarter of the ownership of Hogwarts. The other three quarters are held by your best friend here."

Hermione looked still shocked, but Sharptooth continued. "As Hufflepuff heir, you are entitled to be called Lady Hufflepuff and you also have control of some seats in the Wizengamot. If you two join forces, you can practically change whatever you want in magical Britain."

Hermione was pale and was breathing heavily. Harry was afraid she would faint. He moved closer and put his arms around her shoulders, taking her into a hug. "It's all fine," he whispered soothingly in her ear, rubbing her back comfortingly.

It took Hermione a few minutes to calm down and regain her normal colours.

"I don't think we should make it known, either of us. All that should be known right now is that Harry, by being forced to participate in the tournament, has been emancipated and is now Lord Potter. The other titles should best be kept unknown until we both learn what they really mean for us and for others. Can this be done?"

"Keeping our client's secrets is part of our business, as long as none of our laws is breached," Sharptooth said.