It was their last weekend on camp. "My parents are coming for a short visit again," Elsa told him. "Dad wants to officially invite you to spend the rest of the summer vacation with us."
Harry only nodded. It would be more than great to be with Elsa and her family for the remaining three weeks of vacation, but he didn't dare hope. This vacation was already the best he had ever had; no need to add hope and then disappointment to it.
"Lord Potter, I've done as promised and checked who your magical guardian is," Gerard informed Harry when they were once again in the cabin. Harry looked expectantly at him. "It is Dumbledore, by default, as your parents' will was either not found or was sealed, and the headmaster is assigned this role for all muggle-born or muggle-raised children. He may have more guardianships than he can handle, but it is still his responsibility to inform you and prepare you for your role. When was your twelfth birthday?"
"It was two days ago. Why do you ask?"
Gerard smiled. "Well, Lord Potter, according to the laws set forth by the magical government of Britain, you are now able to take control of all your assets, financial or other, and be fully recognized as an adult. You may even take control of your seats in the Wizengamot, but you first must go to Gringotts and take your Lord ring, as it is the key to all other positions."
"Are you sure it is there? If my father was wearing it when..."
"The Lord rings are all charmed to go back to the vault if the owner dies and his heir is underage, or to his heir, otherwise. You were too young when it happened, so..."
Harry's expression darkened again. "How will I go to Gringotts. My uncle wouldn't help me with that, I'm sure."
Gerard smiled again. "It so happens that I can help you with that too. As a large distributor, I have some influence. I told your uncle that my daughter has found you amusing and would like you to stay with us for the rest of the summer. I also suggested relieving him of the burden of taking you home on the last day of camp. I'll collect both you and Elsa here and then pass by your uncle's house to collect your school stuff. We shall then stop at Diagon Alley, where you can handle your business at the bank and buy your school supplies. I'll take you to the train station on the first day of school."
"My uncle agreed to that?"
"I am his largest continental client. He wouldn't dare disagree with me. Of course, I didn't say a word about your bank and your school or your position. He doesn't need to know that I'm a wizard." Gerard's smile widened. "He just warned me that you may act weirdly sometimes and that you need strict discipline."
"In that case..." Harry could finally breathe freely again. "I'm more than glad to come with you."
"Oh, that's nothing. As I suspect you may become family quite soon, it's just normal to help you. It also makes my daughter happy."
Elsa's wide smile confirmed his words. "That's wonderful, Papa! Do you think I'll be able to find out if Harry is the one before he goes back?"
Gerard shook his head. "That's highly unlikely, as you still need more than half a year to gain your Veela maturity, dear. I can see you're going to be very good friends, regardless of being mates."
\/\/\/
On the last day of camp, Elsa made sure to have everything packed even before breakfast. Using magic for packing sped things quite nicely, and Harry also learned how to do it. Gerard was already waiting for them in a large luxurious car when they finished breakfast. About an hour later, they stopped in front of No. 4, Privet Drive. Harry found his trunk waiting near the stairs. He thanked his aunt for having it ready for him. Two minutes later, they were gone. Since Vernon wasn't at home, he was spared even this short exposure to his nephew.
"I need to return this rented car, so I'll leave you two at the Leaky Cauldron," Gerard told them. "Tom has already reserved a room for each and will help you with your luggage. Wait for me there and we shall go to Diagon Alley as soon as I return."
They settled into their separate rooms. Elsa knocked on his door a few minutes later. "Dad already knows about our sleeping arrangements. There's no reason to change them now. I intend to spend this night with you, just like the previous nights. I'm sure my parents won't pose any problem in letting us be together when we arrive home. I believe they will simply let you settle in my room."
Harry wasn't so sure. He just hoped Elsa was right.
Soon enough Gerard escorted them into Diagon Alley. "You only need to buy your books here," he told Harry, "as we can buy everything else in France."
Harry agreed. He led the way to the bookshop. As they approached, he noticed the large banner, "GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his autobiography MAGICAL ME next Tuesday from 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M."
Whoever this Lockhart guy was, Harry was glad to miss the signing. He seemed to be quite famous, so it would attract many people and Harry didn't like crowds. Going into the shop, he took the first glimpse at his book list, only to find there quite a few books by that person, all intended for DADA, so it seemed.
"Is it normal to have so many books from the same author required for a single class?" he asked Gerard.
The man looked at the list and frowned. "This doesn't seem right at all. Let me browse through some of his books before you buy them."
A store worker was quite glad to lead them to the large pile of books, quite close to the entrance, not forgetting to mention that "the author is going to sign his book next week, in case you're interested."
It only took Gerard a few minutes to understand what these books were all about. "These are pure rubbish!" he told Harry. "If you allow, I'll find you a much better book."
"Wouldn't it be prudent to also buy at least one of these?"
Gerard nodded reluctantly. "I guess this Lockhart is going to be your teacher this year, and he's trying to cash on it, having his books sold in quantity. Buy his newest and you'll be quite safe, I believe. You can also say you visited France and couldn't find his other books there."
Harry smiled. "Yes, that can be a good excuse."
He quickly bought all the other books and added two defence books recommended by Gerard. Elsa also bought some books but didn't let him see them. Harry wondered why.
"I think we should now visit Gringotts," Gerard told him. "I won't be able to accompany you to whoever you need to meet there, but we shall both wait for you in their main lobby unless you'd rather have us wait at the Leaky Cauldron."
"No, I would really like you to also help me with the goblins."
"Unfortunately, until they let you learn about all your assets, they strictly forbid anybody who isn't your immediate family from being present, but I'm sure you'll do fine nevertheless."
Harry approached one of the tellers reluctantly. "Hello, sir. I'd like to check my assets here if you don't mind."
The goblin didn't even raise an eye at him. "That's part of our business, boy, and I'm no Sir. Now, I need your key."
"Sorry, but I've not got my key. I'm not sure who keeps it for me."
"Your name, then," the goblin said, not looking at him yet.
"Harry Potter."
This finally brought some reaction. The goblin lifted his eyes and looked at Harry, noticing his famous scar. "Of course, Lord Potter. Your account manager was wondering why you failed to show up after your twelfth birthday. Let me lead you to his office now."
Harry was led to a large office, quite far from the main lobby of the bank. A much older goblin, wearing what seemed to be very expensive clothes, welcomed him in. "I hope everything is well with you, Lord Potter. I was getting worried as you didn't show up here soon after your birthday. I'm Sharpclaw, your account manager."
"My birthday was less than two weeks ago, and I didn't know you were expecting me."
"Your guardian should have told you. We have informed him well in advance for him to tell you all you need to know before coming here."
"The headmaster didn't tell me anything."
The goblin sighed. "In that case, I may need more time to introduce you to everything you need to know. I've been informed that you came in with a French wizard. What is he to you?"
Harry shrugged. "I've become very close friends with his daughter during the summer camp, and he invited me to spend the rest of my vacation with them. Is there anything more I should know?"
"As a child, you may not need to be aware of status, yet as a Lord, you should be very aware of it. Mr. DuValais is part of a very prestigious family. Had he not married a Veela, he would have been the Lord of this family. Having him as your ally can be very important for your future, and he can also help you learn what your guardian neglected to teach you."
Harry spent more than an hour with Sharpclaw, learning about all his assets as well as about how Dumbledore had (not) handled them. He then visited his main vault, located much lower than his trust vault, to take his Lord ring. As advised by Sharpclaw, he didn't put it on his finger yet, but returned with it in his pocket.
"I'd like our healers to check you for any binds, curses or other problems before you take on your ring, or it may have some unwelcome effects," Sharpclaw explained.
"Can it hurt me?"
"No. You passed our inheritance test and you are the rightful owner of this ring. I only fear that if you take it immediately, some other magic may be released, and that can cause a lot of damage if done in an uncontrolled way."
Two goblin healers came soon, checking Harry with some spells and chants, making his body glow different colours. Harry noticed that they seemed to become more agitated as they worked, making him worry. Finally, one of them spoke. "Lord Potter, we've found quite a few problems, the lesser of which is damage you've suffered from being underfed. There are also numerous injuries that were not properly healed and we also found some tracking and monitoring charms on you. Most of these can be corrected by the magic in your ring. We also found some severe binds on your magic. It is normal for magical parents to bind their children's magic until they are old enough not to harm themselves with their magic, and your parents did that. Those binds were never removed. There are also some more recent binds letting you use only a very small part of your potential."
"Do you know who did it?" Harry was quite furious at that.
"Yes, but you must consider the fact that training one to do well while only having use of a fraction of one's magic may be a way to make one even more powerful, once the binds are removed."
"So, who did it?"
"It was your guardian who bound your magic as soon as you reached school. We can't know for what purpose. The Lord ring can remove those binds, but the magical backlash can be extremely destructive, especially with your amount of magic."
Harry frowned at that, yet the healer continued. "Still, the most troublesome finding is your scar. It anchors a very dark entity that further limits your magic by using some of it to maintain itself. It does not reside in the scar, if you wonder, but came through it and is manifested there the most. Your ring may not be powerful enough to remove it, and that entity may cause you some harm if abruptly released."
"So, what do you suggest?" Harry asked.
The healers consulted with each other in their language before answering. "We suggest you stay here until tomorrow to allow us to remove all these problems in a controlled manner, as your treatment will take about twenty-six hours."
"I can't stay. Mr. DuValais is waiting for me with his daughter."
Sharpclaw spoke now. "I suggest that you go talk to them and let them spend the day as father and daughter, while you stay here and get that treatment. You'll be able to enjoy the rest of the vacation much better after you let our healers treat you. We won't even charge you for that, as it is in our benefit to keep our largest customers healthy."
Gerard wasn't too happy about the delay. "I thought we may take the train tomorrow morning. Now we have to wait another day, but... Well, it may be worth it. We'll be here tomorrow at noon. I believe you will come out soon after we arrive."
Elsa just hugged Harry tightly. "It will be cold and lonely in bed without you," she said.
"But you'll get an 'improved me' tomorrow. It should be worth the sacrifice," Harry told her jokingly.
She didn't smile, though. "Do take care, Harry. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"I'll be careful. Besides, my account manager said they need to keep their customers healthy. That should be a kind of insurance too."