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Harry Potter & the Power of Time
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and other canon characters belong to JKR I'm only having some fun.



Hermione had never been to the Gringotts vaults before, and the ride both exhilarated and terrified her. Despite the reassurances that the carts were charmed to stop people falling out of them, she was certain that if she hadn't been holding onto Harry she'd have fallen out of the cart. Deeper and deeper they plunged the numbers on the vault doors when they could read them getting smaller as they went. Finally the cart slowed and stopped and they disembarked.



"Lord Potter, there is a ritual involved here which must be carried through in the prescribed format, please read the card"



Harry read the proffered card several times to make sure he knew the responses and stepped forward and placed his hand on a smooth piece of wall. As his hand touched the wall a disembodied voice echoed round the chamber.



"Who lays claim to this vault"



"I Lord Harry James Black Potter, son of Lord James Potter and Lady Lily Rose Potter lay claim to the Potter family vault. By my magic and by my life I vow to protect the family present and future."



A beam of white light struck and surrounded him and the voice spoke again. "You have been found worthy, Heir of Potter, name those who can have free access."



"Hermione Jane Granger has full and free access to the family vault. Remus Lupin has access when bearing written authority from Lord Potter."



As Harry spoke the final words the rock face seemed to melt leaving a cavern the size of the Great Hall of Hogwarts opened to view. Unlike his Trust Vault, there were no piles of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, rather there were cupboards, chests, trunks and display cases.



On a black velvet cushion on a gold podium in the centre of the cavern was a ring, Harry felt he was being drawn towards it and walked over.



Griphook spoke, "Lord Potter, the ring on the cushion is the ring worn by the Head of the Potter Family, you must wear it. Tradition states that you wear it on the ring finger of your right hand until you are betrothed or married and then you wear it on your left hand to signify your married status."



"The ring is imbued with many charms and protections, it can't be removed from the hand of a living person, and will return to the vault when the current bearer dies. It will only be visible to those whom you want to see it, another of the charms makes you aware if there is someone near who wishes to harm you."



Harry reached out and took the ring, he held it over the ring finger of his left hand and looked at Hermione, she gave a nod and he put the ring on. He felt a strange sensation, it was like a dam bursting within him. A bright white cloud covered him, none of the others could bear to look at him. After ten minutes the light had faded to nothingness, Hermione studied the young man before her and could see no physical difference, however she could feel the waves of power rolling off him.



Harry dropped into a light meditation. He searched out his magical core and realised the block was gone, not a trace left, 'wow' he thought, 'I'll need to try an Animagus transformation today, to see if I'm still Harry the puppy or Prongs Junior, or maybe my true form will be something else.'



Harry looked around, his vision was blurred and he had light spots dancing before his eyes. He reached up to his face to make sure he still had his glasses on and found he did. He removed his glasses and looked round, everything was clear, he could see properly.



"Remus, Hermione, I can see without my glasses, everything is clear."



He thought for a minute, everyone knew he wore glasses, everyone expected him to wear glasses. That could be an advantage in a fight. He looked at the frames he had worn since he had started school. His first teacher had noticed that he was having problems in class and had forced the issue to such an extent, that the Dursleys had been forced to take him to an optician, he had been given his glasses the following week, and he'd worn the same ones since.



He looked at the frames and thought of the style he would have wanted to wear, as he watched the frames changed from round to octagonal, from plastic to metal, and from black to gunmetal grey. The lenses changed to plain glass but with a reactive lens so he wouldn't need sunglasses. He put them on and conjured a mirror and looked, the frames adjusted until he was happy with them.



"Harry, why are you still wearing your glasses if you don't need them? And how did you change them? How did you conjure a mirror?" asked Hermione, she had more questions but those were the ones that reached her tongue first.



Before he could answer Remus spoke. "This is proof of how much like James he is. James' eyesight was fixed when he first wore the Potter ring, but like Harry he chose to hide the fact. He had his lenses charmed to allow him to see through things, much like Moody's eye."



"Hermione, I don't know how I changed them, transfiguration, I think, I just thought of what I wanted them to look like and it happened. As for the mirror I just wanted one and it appeared."



Harry looked around and saw another ring on the podium and immediately knew what it was.



"Hermione, this is the ring worn by the betrothed of the Head of the Potter House, it is yours, can I put it on your finger?"



"Yes, my Lord" she replied and thought 'Lord? Lord? When did I start calling Harry my Lord?'



"Hermione, you acknowledging me as Lord Potter is the answer you needed to give, it allows you to wear the ring" and with that Harry placed the ring on Hermione's left ring finger.



As with Harry, a bright white cloud enveloped her and again it lasted for about ten minutes, they looked at each other and knew that they had made the correct decision.



Remus looked on amazed, he had watched James and Lily go through the same process but had never felt such power flowing off any couple as he did now. Griphook looked totally unfazed but in his mind he was compiling a report for the Goblin Council, if he was right the two spoken of in Goblin Legend had come together.



They looked round the chamber, noting things they needed to investigate further, and amazed by the quantity and quality of the paintings and other artwork. As they were about to leave Harry remembered they had to do some clothes shopping and looked for some Galleons.



"Griphook, I need some money for shopping, where is the money stored."



"Your money is stored in a separate vault, linked to your Trust Vault, take this pouch and press the key for your vault against the Gringotts symbol, that will allow you to access up to 500 Galleons per day. For larger transactions we have 'borrowed' Muggle technology, we use what they call a 'Credit Card', but in our case the card will only allow you to draw money equal to the funds you have available."



"What about Muggle money?"



"The Potter Trust has dealings in the Nonmagical world, your family have several personal accounts with different banks, your cards will be ready for collection when we get back to the lobby."



"Thank you for your assistance, now are the keys for Potter Manor held here?"



"Yes, open the cabinet to the left of the vault door, only the current Lord can touch the keys, and only he can give permission for people to enter the house. Please understand that when these rules were made wives were seen as little more than the property of their husband, the last two Lord Potter's have tried to alter this but couldn't."



Harry opened the cabinet door and looked, there on a key-ring was the most intricate key he'd ever seen, it was a cruciform key (teeth on all four sides of the shaft), below the key was an envelope with the words /'read me first' /on it. As the letters were in red flashing ink he followed the instructions and opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of parchment and read.



As you are able to read this letter you must be the newest Lord Potter and for some reason have not been instructed on how to gain access to Potter Manor by the previous Lord. The key for Potter Manor is a Portkey which is voice activated. The first time you use it the password is 'take me home.' Once you are at the Manor the head elf will show you the parchment that allows you to set your own password.



The Portkey function will also transport you anywhere within the Wizarding world, all you do is state your destination and the key will transport you to the nearest Portkey point. Anyone touching you when you activate the Portkey will be transported with you.



Harry took the key and put it in his pocket and looked at Griphook. "We were wondering last night, and I've only just remembered, what happened to Headmaster Dumbledore after the will reading?"



"He was released after paying a fine of one thousand Galleons for interrupting a Will reading without due cause, he is also banned from entering Gringotts for twelve months and his account will have no interest added for the same period. You need to be careful round him, he is extremely angry with you."



"Thank you, Griphook, we will be. Now is there anything else we need to take with us?"



"Yes," the Goblin replied and handed an envelope to Harry. "This envelope contains a statement of the cash assets in your vault, it updates automatically when you make a withdrawal or deposit to help you keep track of your finances."



"Thanks, now time to shop!"



After another thrilling ride back to the main lobby and a brief side trip to collect his new cards, they stepped out into the late morning sunshine, Harry was sure that they had spent more time in the bank but it was still only 11:30 a.m. They said goodbye to Remus who was going to spend some time reading the rules of the Potter Trust in preparation for the next meeting. They made their way to Madam Malkins Robes for all Occasions to start their clothes shopping.



A bored looking assistant gave them a glance and went back to chewing her gum not realising the commission she was missing on the sale. Madam Malkin, however was watching and approached and greeted them.



"Good morning, how may I help you today? Hogwarts robes?"



"Not today, Ma'am." Replied Harry. "We both need a selection of everyday and dress robes, in addition if you can supply them, some Muggle clothes. Hermione will select the colours and designs for all of them."



"Harry," hissed Hermione, "You don't need to buy me things."



"I know, its not a case of need to, but want to."



Madam Malkin called over an assistant and they measured the couple for their new robes. Hermione picked out the colours and Harry asked that the robes be made to measure rather than off the peg and resized.



"Your order will take a week to get ready," Madam Malkin informed them. "now do you want any extras added?"



"What extras do you offer?" asked Harry.



"We have charms that keep you warm or cool depending on the weather, sizing charms that allow the robes to adjust up to two sizes up or down, stain-proof charms which protect your robes from spillages, these are especially good for the dress robes. We can also charm them to repel most light hexes and jinxes."



"Okay, we'll have the all the charms on all the robes, I would also like my Family Crest on two of the sets of the dress robes."



"Which family, dear?"



"Potter, and we need it on two sets of Hermione's robes also."



Only her sheer professionalism stopped Madam Malkin from gawping at Harry, her assistant wasn't just as professional but managed to change the look of surprise very quickly.



"Of course, Mr. Potter, we have the pattern in our stock room, can we add your endorsement to our list as we have in the past?"



"What do you mean?" he asked.



"Look here" she replied and showed him the shops endorsement list which read. /'Madam Malkins Robes for all Occasions, suppliers of robes to: /followed by a list of the prominent Wizarding families. Included in the list were the Malfoys, the Crabbes, the Goyles, Parkinsons, Bulstrodes, Bones and many other surnames he knew from school.



"Not at the moment" he replied. "I want to keep the fact I'm reviving the family name quiet for the time being. Maybe later. Now can you help with Muggle clothes?"



"Sorry, but we only have a small selection, but Glad Rags along the street have a wide range as they have expanded into the Muggle world."



"Thank you, Ma'am, now what do we owe you for the clothes"



Madam Malkin led them over to the cash desk and started calculating the total. "With the charms packages the cost is two thousand Galleons, sixteen Sickles and thirteen Knuts. We'll make that two thousand Galleons straight, now cash or card?"



"Card, thank you" said Harry producing his new acquisition, he then reached into his pouch and took out two hundred Galleons, "Please accept this for your exemplary service, and also if anyone asks you haven't seen me or Hermione."



"Thank you, Mr. Potter, I hope we can do business for many years to come."



"Likewise, Ma'am, please contact me via Griphook at Gringotts when my order is ready."



"Certainly, Mr. Potter."



The young couple made their way down the street to Glad Rags where they proceeded to purchase a new wardrobe of casual clothes. Harry tried to buy all dark colours but Hermione insisted that he buy some lighter ones explaining that if they were going on holiday on St. Kitts they would need lighter colours. They also bought some swimwear but Hermione refused to show him what she had selected. Harry paid extra to have their purchases delivered to Griphook at Gringotts, the Goblin would have them forwarded to the Grangers house.



After a quick visit to the Apothecary to purchase some tanning and sun protection lotions they went to the Portkey point outside the Leaky Cauldron. Harry pulled Hermione into a tight embrace and gave her a quick kiss and activated the Portkey, 'Take me Home.'



Harry had never had a Portkey journey like it, he felt a warm fuzzy feeling in the area of his navel which spread to the rest of his body and just as quickly it disappeared and they were standing outside the gates of a magnificent manor house, later Hermione described it as being equal to Blenheim Palace.



A house-elf 'popped' into existence on the other side of the gate and looked at the young couple and opened the gate.



"Welcome to Potter Manor, Lord Potter, please follow me."



"Certainly, what is your name?" asked Harry as they followed the elf toward the house.



"I am Ceri, head elf of the Potter family, currently we have six elves bonded to the family, but if you are going to open up the houses we will need more staff, you will need a Valet and your betrothed will need a Lady's Maid who will also be the nanny to your children."



"Ceri, I notice that you wear clothes and not a tea towel, why is that?" asked Hermione.



"The badge of bonding is wearing the Family Crest, not the piece of cloth it is attached to. The Potters always insisted that the Family elves wore clothing appropriate to the tasks they were doing, we all wear the Crest with pride. We don't accept wages but there is a jar of Galleons for us to use if we need to buy anything. Our basic needs are met from the Potter Trust. We have quarters in the attic that we can decorate to our own design."



By this time they had reached the front door, Harry inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. Ceri handed him a card and he read. "I, Harry James Black Potter, Head of the Potter Family lay claim to the Potter Lands as is my right. I grant access to Hermione Jane Granger, Roger Granger, Jill Granger and Remus Lupin at all times. Hedwig the Owl is granted freedom to find me at any Potter House."



Harry read the other card and read it. 'To change the default password on the key to Potter Manor, touch the key with your wand and think of the word you want to use, and then repeat it'



Harry took out his wand and touched the key with it, 'Sodor' /and repeated it. He read further, /reusable Portkeys for those allowed unlimited access to the Manor can be made by touching your wand to an item personal the user and saying your password. The Portkey will be personalised to the user. Any guests will need to be sent a one-time Portkey to allow them to visit, again these should be personalised so only the guest can use it.



He turned to Hermione and lifted her left hand and touched his wand to her ring and thought 'Sodor' and repeated the thought. He looked into her eyes and opened their link. 'Hermione, your ring is now a reusable Portkey similar to the key, to use it think the word 'Sodor' and you will be transported to this entrance hall. It will also take you anywhere in the Wizarding world as the house key does, when we get back to your parents I'll make them Portkeys which will transport them between here and their house so they can visit.'



"Ceri can you please arrange a light lunch to be prepared, and while we are eating you can tell me if there are any major repairs needed for the house, after that Hermione and I will be visiting the house on St. Kitts for a few hours."



"Certainly, Lord Potter, if you come through here soup and sandwiches will be served, will spicy pumpkin be okay? It is what was being prepared for the elves."



"That will be fine, please call us by our given names which are Harry and Hermione, except on formal occasions where you will refer to us as Lord Harry and Lady Hermione. I noticed that you speak very good English, not the patois that most elves use is there a reason for this?"



"Yes Lo, Harry, all elves can speak good English but most families forbid it as to allow it would mean they would have to recognise that elves are intelligent, sentient beings." Replied Ceri as he led them into a room. "This is the family dining room, all meals are served here unless you specify otherwise, there is also a large formal dining room which can seat up to fifty, this room can seat a maximum of twenty."



"Thank you, Ceri," said Harry.



As they sat at the table plates of sandwiches appeared along with a tureen of soup. As they ate Ceri listed the repairs required and Harry asked that they be carried out. He was told that the elves would be able to do everything required, and would be called back from the other houses that day.



At the end of the meal Harry asked to be shown the Portal to St. Kitts and the other Potter homes Ceri led him to a door which sat to the left of the main door as you entered. "To go to one of the other houses you put your hand on the doorknob and say the name of the house, if you don't say the name, it opens to a cupboard. Anyone holding your hand will be transported with you. There is a house-elf looking after the house who will give you any information you wish."



With that Harry took hold of Hermione's hand and said "St. Kitts" and opened the door. They stepped through the door and found themselves in a beautiful colonial style house. An elf 'popped' beside them and spoke. "Welcome Harry and Hermione, my name is Lupe, Ceri informed me that you were coming and how to address you. Please read this card."



"I, Harry James Black Potter, Head of the Potter Family grant access to 'Montego House' to Hermione Jane Granger, Roger Granger and Jill Granger at all times. Lupe, can you tell us about the house and grounds please?"



"The house sits in two acres of land and is surrounded by woodland on three sides, the fourth side faces the beach. The grounds are warded against Muggles using repelling charms, anyone approaching will get the sudden urge to go somewhere else. Magical folks are kept out by similar measures. It is safe to swim in the sea off the beach as the reef is warded against harmful sea creatures, Gillyweed grows naturally on the reef to allow guests to swim freely."



"The house itself has six bedrooms, a family room and a large kitchen/diner, there is no cook, but the cook from Potter Manor will come and prepare meals as necessary. There are also beach huts which can be used as extra bedrooms if necessary."



The young couple walked out onto the beach, Harry conjured a pair of sunglasses and a sunhat for Hermione and a baseball cap for himself to protect them from the sun. Due to the three hour time difference it was only ten a.m. local time, they wandered down to the shoreline and looked at the inviting water and decided to go for a swim. They retreated to the nearest beach hut and got ready to go swimming. They took out the guaranteed waterproof sun protection and tanning lotions and after reading the instructions they carefully applied them, each taking great care to ensure the other was completely covered, they took the advantage of being on their own and went swimming naked.



For the first ten or so minutes they swam around, splashing each other and generally having some fun, they swam over to the reef and Harry did a shallow dive looking for a special plant, then he spotted it, Gillyweed.



He remembered the size of lump that had given him an hour in the lake at Hogwarts and gathered two similar sized lumps and swam back up to Hermione. They looked at each other and ate the weed and felt the pain in their necks as they grew gills. They dived toward the bottom of the lagoon and looked at each other, they moved closer and drew each other into a kiss, the lack of need to breathe through mouth or nose meant the kiss didn't need to stop, hands began to wander, soon followed by lips and eventually they began to make love. The sensations were incredible, the sand soft against their skin. They hadn't a care in the world no thoughts of Voldemort and his pretensions about world domination or Dumbledore and his manipulations, they only had thoughts for themselves.



After they had finished making love they swam around for a little while examining the large starfish and sea urchins and shoals of multicoloured fish all of which had no fear of man, all too soon they felt the pain in their necks that meant they had to surface and reluctantly they did. They considered eating more Gillyweed but as neither was sure how much could be safely eaten they decided against it. They climbed onto the top of the reef and Harry conjured a blanket and they lay down in the sun. After some time they felt the day heating up and decided that even with protection that they should head for the shade so they swam back to the shore and used the outside shower to wash the salt off their bodies and hair.



They quickly dressed and went back to the house. "Lupe" called Harry and the elf 'popped' beside them. "We will be coming back here in two weeks for a holiday, please prepare the Master bedroom and to be on the safe side, three guest rooms."



"Certainly, if you tell Ceri your arrival date he will let me know so I can get fresh food from the local market, or from Britain if you don't want to eat local food."



"Local food is fine" said Harry and led Hermione back through the Portal to Potter Manor.



The change in the Manor was incredible, after just three hours the place seemed as if it had been given new life, there was nothing you could put your finger on, it just felt alive.



"Harry, Griphook from Gringotts has been in touch, the Potter Trust will meet in two days as requested. He asked me to tell you that unfortunately none of the previous Board Members are alive. The Board needs to be at least five members strong, at the moment it consists of Mr. Aberforth, Minister Cornelius Fudge, Professor Severus Snape, Mr. Mundungus Fletcher and Ms. Mafalda Hopkirk, with Professor Dumbledore himself as Chairperson. He asked that if there are any others you want to invite to the meeting you are to owl him. I also need to inform you that a female Snowy Owl has taken up residence in the Owlery and won't let any of the staff approach her. She was accompanied by a phoenix who has taken residence next to her."



"There are also two house-elves waiting in the kitchen requesting to speak to you, their names are"



"Dobby and Winky" said Harry and Hermione in unison.



Two pops sounded and the named elves appeared. Harry looked at the elves and spoke first. "Dobby, are you willing to be bonded to the House of Potter?"



Almost before Harry had finished speaking Dobby had said "Yes"



"Dobby, your job will be to work as my Valet. You will speak true English not house-elf patois, Ceri will inform you of your duties and issue you with your uniform."



He looked at Hermione and nodded.



Hermione knelt and looked Winky in the eye. "Winky, are you willing to be bonded to the House of Potter?"



Large tears speared in Winky's eyes and she whispered "Yes"



"Winky, your job will be to work as my Lady's Maid, and in the future to be nanny to any children. You will speak true English and not house-elf patois. Ceri will inform you of your duties and issue you with your uniform."



Winky hugged Hermione tightly and thanked her, and then turned and hugged Harry and finally Dobby.



Harry asked for parchment and a quill and wrote a quick letter to Griphook,



Griphook,



Thank you for the information, I want Mr. Remus Lupin, Mr. Roger Granger, Auror Tonks, Mr. William Weasley, Madam Amelia Bones, Professor Minerva McGonagall and yourself to be present. Myself and Hermione will also be there, please do not inform the current Board Members of who else will be there, let them convene and then we will enter together.



Harry J. Potter



As always Hedwig arrived as he sealed his letter, he knew of no other Owl that did this, she landed on his shoulder, alongside her was the Headmaster's phoenix who perched on the banister of the grand staircase. Harry greeted his old friend and fussed over her feeding her Owl Treats from the packet he kept in his pocket, Hedwig took all the fussing he gave and nibbled gently on his ear and then fussed at his hair, almost as if she were trying to groom him.



Harry offered up his arm and Hedwig shifted her perch, he lifted her up to eye level and spoke to her. "Hedwig, the elves wearing my Crest will take care of you, I will send letters to them and they may need to send letters to me, this is our new home, okay?"



Hedwig seemed to nod in acknowledgement and held out her leg for the letter to be attached and then flew off to Gringotts.



Fawkes started singing from his perch on the banister. Somehow Harry and Hermione knew he was asking for sanctuary. They knew from their Care of Magical Creatures classes that a phoenix could only bond to one living wizard or witch at a time but that in extreme circumstances would leave their bonded and seek sanctuary.



Harry spoke out. "Fawkes the phoenix is granted sanctuary at Potter Manor until such times he feels free to move on. Ceri please ensure that Fawkes' needs are taken care of"



As Ceri agreed Fawkes disappeared with a quick burst of Phoenix song and a flash of flame.



The young couple's day ended with Hermione treating Harry to a meal in her favourite Italian restaurant. They walked back to the Grangers house and after a quick goodnight to her parents went upstairs to bed. It had been a momentous day so after a quick goodnight kiss they fell asleep wrapped in each others arms.



Next chapter: What happened to Dumbledore and the Dursleys