Yuletide Blessing

Account Manager

Sharptooth opened one of the folders. "Let's see. You have four manor houses in Britain and one in France, a castle in Wales and another in Normandy, five houses, two of which are in London and several apartment houses in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and a few more towns. You even have three apartments in Diagon Alley, one of which is currently unused."

He looked some more at the parchments. "Oh, you also own the house at Privet Drive no. 4. Your uncle pays a monthly rent to the holding company." Harry could swear he saw the goblin smile with mischief.

It took him a minute to comprehend, though. "Can I move into the apartment at Diagon Alley now?" he asked.

"I don't see any obstacle. You should ask the house-elf taking care of that apartment, though. It wouldn't be nice to arrive unannounced."

"I own a house-elf?"

"Quite a few, I believe." Sharptooth seemed more than a bit amused at Harry's reactions. "Each manor and castle has a team of four house-elves, at least, and all houses have two, except the one you've been living at. Only the apartments in magical areas have a house-elf assigned to them. It wouldn't do to have one in Muggle areas, you know."

Hermione seemed furious but kept her mouth shut. Harry wanted to know some more. "So, how many house elves do I own?"

"About eighty. Some of them are tending your orchards and your vineyards in France and in Spain."

"Are they well treated?" It was natural to make sure, especially with an angry Hermione nearby.

"I assume so. Most are responsible for whatever they do and have nobody to supervise them. They are practically free to do as they like as long as they do their jobs."

Hermione seemed to relax at hearing this and so did Harry.

"How may I contact the house elf responsible for the apartment you've told me about?"

Sharptooth glanced at the documents he was holding.

"Its name is Diggy. Just say the name loudly, that's all."

"Diggy?"

That seemed to be enough, as a "pop" was heard and a small female house-elf, wearing an apron over a nice uniform with the house crest under the left shoulder, appeared in the room. "Master called?" she asked. Her eyes found Harry and her expression changed. "Oh, young Master Harry! Diggy was awaiting your call for years! Diggy is so glad to personally serve young master Harry!" She seemed to hold herself from hugging Harry.

"You know me?"

"Diggy was serving at Potter Manor when Master Harry was born. Diggy was keeping eye on baby while parents busy fighting. Then Old Dumble said manor not safe. Parents and baby move elsewhere. Diggy made herself busy at apartment in Diagon Alley."

It was clear she was skipping over some painful memories. Harry bent down and offered a hug. Diggy stepped into his hug and hugged him back, some tears of happiness appearing in her big eyes. When they finally released the hug, Harry spoke. "Diggy, can you make the apartment ready for me to live in? I only need to stay there during school vacations right now, and not even for the full duration of the vacations, as I want to spend some time with my friends, but I want to have a place I can call 'home'."

"It will be ready before sunset," Diggy promised.

"You need not hurry. I'm currently staying with my friend Hermione and her parents."

Diggy looked at Hermione. "Mistress is very good for master and very considerate to house-elves, but mistress needs to learn a lot."

Hermione was alarmed. "I'm not your mistress, or anybody's, really!"

"In your hearts, you are already mates. As my master's mate, you are my mistress."

Hermione blushed deeply. This house-elf seemed to read human feelings like an open book and she wasn't sure she wanted her feelings to be already exposed. Yet it implied Harry had similar feelings. Maybe this wasn't too bad.

Harry felt himself blush as well, yet he liked the implication. If Hermione had feelings similar to his, then maybe they could build a future together?

He found his voice eventually. "Thank you, Diggy. You may continue whatever you were doing. I'll call you if I need you."

Diggy bowed, still looking very happy, and disappeared.

Harry turned back to the goblin. "Can you give me just a brief description of what I own? It looks like I may need several days for the full one."

"Yes, that would be wise," Sharptooth agreed. He then proceeded to describe the main assets, the annual income they produced and the annual expenses. Even this took almost an hour.

"I suggest you now visit your main vault and put on your head-of-house ring. It can protect you from most low- and mid-level spells, alert you to any potions in your food or beverage and protect your mind from most attempts to penetrate or influence it." Sharptooth looked at Hermione and back at Harry, as if assessing the situation. "You may also consider giving your friend a Promise Ring, even if you currently have no romantic intentions. It can give her almost the same protection as your ring."

Harry remembered going to his trust vault. It was a rough ride, but not too bad. He wasn't prepared for the ride to his main vault, though. This vault seemed to be much deeper than he thought possible and the ride seemed to take forever. The only bright spot about it was Hermione holding him tight and burying her head in the crook of his neck, pressing her body as close to his as possible. This made his thoughts wander to some places which had nothing to do with vaults, goblins or money.

Still, he felt a bit shaky when the cart stopped in front of a huge door sporting a house crest which he was now able to identify as his own. Hermione was too shaky to stand on her own feet, though. She leaned heavily on Harry and he held her tightly, supporting her physically and getting her moral support as well.

"Put your hand on the marked place. Expect a pin-prick," their goblin escort said. Harry did as requested. He felt his thumb pricked, taking a drop of blood, but he could see no sign once he removed his hand, as the door started opening.

After seeing the mountains of coins in his trust vault, Harry expected more piles of money in this one. He was surprised. This vault looked like a library or a well organized store. Rows and rows of shelves and drawers lined the floor space, each row and column marked by place designators and some sporting additional labels like "Jewelry", "Hand-Arms", "Potions" and more. There were a few cabinets near the door. The one closest to the door held a large book, labeled "Vault Index". The ones next to it looked like somebody had just left several items atop, to be sorted to their places, yet the one that attracted Harry's attention was at the other side of the door. There were several parchments rolled and tied on it, along with a large envelope marked "For Harry".

He was quite reluctant to open the envelope. Hermione pressed his hand in reassurance and encouragement. He smiled at her and grabbed the envelope. He first led her to a bench at the side wall and they both sat down before he finally opened the envelope and took out a parchment.

"Harry,

We don't know how old you will be when you read this letter, nor if you will survive long enough to read it. We dearly hope you do survive and are well and healthy when you find this.

Your mother and I love you dearly. There's nothing we would like more than to raise you and be with you every day until you're old enough to leave home for your schooling. Yet the times are rough. A dark lord is looming and is killing whoever opposes him, as well as many others. We both have fought him more than once and escaped, yet we fear that our luck may not hold forever. Your mother had invoked an obscure protection ritual that will hopefully save you even if we don't survive our next encounter with evil.

In that case, we hope our friends Sirius Black (Padfoot) and Alice Longbottom, who has a son only a day older than you – who are both your godparents – will make sure that you grow up with love, knowing about us and how much we've loved you.

Unfortunately, considering the dark times, this may not happen. Our will (of which you should find a copy near this envelope) lists our preferences about your guardians.

My son, if you find love, make sure to nurture it and protect it. We, Potter men, are known to find love early and keep it for life. If you haven't found it yet, then open your heart to those you find worthy. You'll know when you've found it – that's part of being a Potter. Once you have it, you'll find new powers in yourself, powers you could never dream of.

Now, as the last Potter, you are entitled to become emancipated at twelve and take your position as Head of House at fifteen. Traditionally. Potter men marry muggle-born witches. Only few married otherwise and none of them was a Head. This connects to the previous paragraph, directing you to where to look for love, if you've not found it yet.

As for the vault, it is neatly arranged by magic invoked by your mother. I would have never thought of this. Anyhow, the index book near the door can only be opened by a Potter and is updated automatically as items are placed in the vault or removed from it. I suggest (as your mother agrees) to start with the books. They are the real richness. Once you learn all that is relevant to you, the rest is trivial.

I need to stop now, as your mother also wants to add her own words.

James."

The handwriting changed into a neater, rounder kind.

"Dear Harry,

I wish I could be with you now, but fate seems to have a different idea. I hope you are happy in your life. If you haven't yet found love, I hope you find it soon with a girl who is worthy of you. Once you do, don't let her guess your feelings – tell her. She will appreciate it and respond accordingly. If you're not married by now, I wish your bride would wear the same jewels I've worn at my wedding, as a kind of blessing from me to her. They are in the first drawer under this letter, along with the Lord ring and the promise and engagement rings and the Lady ring, which should only be given after you wed.

Do take the Lord ring and put it on your finger, as it would give you a lot of protection. Even if you feel you're safe, extra precaution is always recommended. Besides, it is the key to your seats at the wizengamot, which are probably still held by some ministry appointed butt-lickers.

Always remember that your parents love you, even if they had to leave you prematurely.

With a lot of love, your mom,

Lilly."

Harry had some tears in his eyes by the time he finished reading. Hermione, sitting at his side, refrained (with some difficulty) from reading along, knowing this was a very personal letter.

Harry pressed her hand once before he stood up and walked back to that cabinet, opened the top drawer and took out two rings. He put one in his pocket before walking back.

"This is my Lord ring. Is it safe to wear it now?" he asked.

"I'm sure your parents would have not suggested doing so if it wasn't, nor would Sharptooth."

Harry put the ring on, quite reluctantly. As soon as the ring was seated properly it re-sized to fit his finger, shining brightly. It then emitted a circle of light which floated over Harry's head and started descending. Harry's reluctance seemed to be justified. As soon as the circle of light reached his scar, Harry felt a sharp pain which almost made him faint. It only lasted a few seconds, and then some dark smoke came out of the scar. It tried to coalesce, but some light rays from the ring shot it in different directions and the slight air circulation made it vanish.

Harry felt the pain disappear completely, unlike other times, when a certain nagging ache would still be there, ever since he remembered.

The circle continued its way downward, flashing a few times and Harry thought he was feeling a bit stronger, but he wasn't really sure. Once the circle reached the floor it disappeared completely.

"Wow! That was magnificent! And your scar has practically disappeared!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I feel... cleaner, in a way, maybe even stronger..."

"Why don't you try a simple spell, like 'Lumos'?"

Harry grabbed his wand reluctantly and muttered "Lumos!"

The tip of his wand lighted so brightly that he couldn't even look at it. He tried to direct as little magic into the spell as possible, yet it took him a few times to make the light tolerably bright, although still much brighter than it had used to be.

"I think that you had some binds on your magic and they have been removed by the ring, or it may be the ring enhancing your magic. Can you try it again without the ring?"

Harry pulled the ring off his finger and moved his hand to drop it into Hermione's, but she retraced her hand quickly. "Only you may safely touch the ring, now that it has accepted you. Anybody else may be stunned or worse."

Harry blushed. "I wasn't aware of this," he apologized. He put the ring on the bench, took a few steps away and tried again. The light was just as bright. He looked questioningly at Hermione.

"It removed your binds," she said. "Now try to summon the ring silently."

Harry concentrated on the ring and it jumped immediately to his finger.

"According to what I've read, you may make it invisible by just thinking at it," Hermione added.

Harry tried, and the ring faded from view. He could still feel it on his finger, but even when groping with his other hand he couldn't feel any ring.

He sat back at her side. "Hermione, you didn't seem as surprised as I felt when you heard how rich I am. Why is it?"

Hermione blushed. "You know I like reading. There are histories of all prominent families in the library. I've read about Potter, Longbottom, Weasley, Malfoy, Bones and more. While there were no concrete numbers there, it was clear that most Ancient and Noble families, like yours, were quite rich. When hearing about the way your relatives were treating you, it infuriated me, especially since I thought they knew about it as well. Letting you wear these... rags..."

She had to stop and calm down a bit. "I was fascinated with 'the boy who lived' at first, but then you saved me from the troll and made me your friend. It was Harry whom I liked; it was Harry who was turning into my best friend and even more; I was glad for YOU when I found out you're going to be rich. Falling in love with you was not planned... Oh!"

Hermione covered her reddening face in embarrassment. She knew she had said too much. She had said more than she intended to and was now dreading the consequences.