Chapter 1

Harry was feeling slightly nervous. This wasn't strange, as most students would be nervous when called to the headmaster's office, but Harry doubted a student had ever been called up to Dumbledore's office for this particular reason. He certainly didn't know of any other case where a student had used a time-turner to save their wrongfully accused godfather from having his soul sucked out.

Harry guessed Dumbledore had called him up on the last day of school to get a detailed account. The whole thing had been the headmaster's idea to begin with, so Harry shouldn't have felt as nervous as he did. The reason he was though, was because of something that happened during his trip in time. Something he hadn't shared with anyone yet. Not even with Hermione, who had gone back in time with him. Something had happened to him that night, and he wasn't sure he felt comfortable knowing what it was.

Harry was so distracted, he hadn't even realised he had arrived at his destination until he heard Dumbledore's aged voice telling him to come in through the closed door of his office. Harry entered and gave a look around. The office looked the same as he remembered from his second year at Hogwarts. Shelves and cabinets all around filled with books and strange magical instruments that softly whizzed and puffed, Fawkes the phoenix on his perch, the softly snoring portraits of all the previous headmasters and headmistresses on the walls and the sorting hat on a shelf behind Dumbledore's desk. The only new addition seemed to be the display case showing the gleaming sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Harry greeted Fawkes, who thrilled warmly in reply, and stroked his magnificent feathers until Dumbledore asked Harry to take a seat. Harry gave a small start and started apologising before Dumbledore interrupted him with twinkling eyes and a knowing smile. "It's hardly the first time Fawkes draws such attention to himself." With a mischievous glance to the phoenix he added, "In truth I rather believe he enjoys being the centre of attention." To the amusement of both wizards, Fawkes gave a huff and disappeared in a ball of flames.

"Now then Harry, I'm sure you are wondering why you are here." Harry took a deep breath.
"To be honest sir, I figured you wanted to know exactly what happened a few days back. Although I figured Hermione ought to be here for that as well." Dumbledore chuckled lightly. "I'm sure it would be a good story my boy, but it is not why I called you up here. Rather, I have some business to discuss with you first. As Headmaster of this school and as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, it falls to me to inform you of your inheritance." Dumbledore paused to let that sentence sink in a bit, but Harry just looked confused. "My inheritance, sir? Do you mean the money my parents left me?" Dumbledore chuckled again.

"There's a little more to it than that, my boy. Did you know that the Potters are one of what wizarding Britain calls the 'ancient and noble' houses?" at Harry's confused look, Dumbledore elaborated. "The ancient and noble houses are old wizarding families that played a part in the forming of the Wizengamot and the ministry of magic. These families all have a hereditary seat on the Wizengamot, the legislative body of the ministry and its highest legal court." Harry gave a small nod, to show he followed it all so far. "So my family has one of these seats then?" Dumbledore nodded merrily. "Indeed my boy, although you aren't obligated to claim it if you don't wish to do so, and won't be able to do so anyway until you come of age, as would happen for all of your inheritance normally."
"Normally, sir?" Harry asked, getting confused again. "Normally this would be the case." Dumbledore agreed. "As the last direct heir to an ancient and noble family, there are however, a few exceptions. In the case of underage heirs with no direct adult magical relatives, such as yourself, the heir can claim their family's full estate, vaults and possessions if they have finished at least three years of formal magical education."

Dumbledore paused again. Letting Harry come to grips with the news. "So my family owned more than just my vault?" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "And how would I claim my inheritance?" Dumbledore looked at Harry with twinkling eyes. "I'm not aware of the full extent of the Potter estate, but I do know that your current vault at Gringotts was specifically set aside to pay for your schooling, should something happen to your parents. The main family vault should be untouched and waiting to be claimed, alongside any properties your family may still have." At this Dumbledore's gaze turned thoughtful. "I do know your family used to have a rather sizable manor that got burned down in the last war and that your parent's house in Godric's Hollow has been turned into a national monument, although you may still own the ground the building once stood on." Seeing the stunned look on Harry's face, Dumbledore continued. "To claim your inheritance one would simply need to fill out a few legal forms to formally acknowledge you as an emancipated minor, and then visit with your account manager at Gringotts to claim the estate. I have the legal forms here if you would like to handle everything now? I'd escort you to Gringotts as well, but the goblins insist the claiming of inheritance should strictly be between the heir and the account manager."

As Harry started reading over some of the forms Dumbledore continued. "I must also say that as an emancipated minor, you will be exempt from the Reasonable restriction on underage Sorcery." Harry looked up excitedly. "Does this mean -"
"Yes, Harry, it means you may use magic outside of Hogwarts school." Dumbledore looked at Harry over his half-moon glasses as his gaze took on a more serious note. "I must impress upon you however that this is a privilege that can be taken away if any laws are broken and that the Statute of Secrecy is still to be upheld in all except life threatening cases. No magic is allowed where anyone who is not aware of our world may notice." At Harry's properly chastised look, Dumbledore turned cheerful once more as he offered to help Harry fill out the legal forms.

A short while later, Harry finished the last signature. The forms briefly flashed white, before copying themselves into one small pile for Harry, as Dumbledore explained, and one small pile that Dumbledore would file with the ministry. "Now then, I believe congratulations are in order Harry. Or rather, Head Potter, if you wish to be formal about it." Dumbledore added with twinkling eyes. His genial smile only seemed to grow at Harry's embarrassed insistence that 'just Harry' was fine.

"Now then Harry, with business out of the way, I do admit, I'm rather curious just how events happened the night Sirius escaped." So Harry explained all that happened. Starting with how Hermione and he had freed Buckbeak, before hiding in the forest. How Hermione had stopped him from going after Pettigrew. How they had barely escaped from Lupin's werewolf form with a little help from Buckbeak. How he had seen the dementors attacking Sirius and the others, until he realised his past self, had seen his future self cast the patronus that chased the Dementors away. How he and Hermione had flown Buckbeak to the tower where Sirius had been imprisoned and then raced back to the hospital wing.

"You are truly an exceptional young man Harry, your parents would most certainly be proud. To have cast such a strong patronus is most impressive indeed. Especially for a wizard your age" And Dumbledore indeed looked impressed. "I feel however that something is weighing on your mind…" The unspoken question of what this might be wasn't lost on Harry. Not for the first time, Harry had the idea that Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes saw right through him. He gathered his thoughts for a minute before he spoke again. "Professor… Do you remember last year, when you explained that Voldemort gave some of his powers to me after he tried to kill me?" At Dumbledore's agreeable nod he continued. "Well, before Hermione and I used the time turner, when the dementors were attacking us. One of them... gave me the kiss."

Harry stopped there for a second and gasped. A terrible pressure had filled the room after Harry's admission, and Harry understood fully for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The old wizard looked absolutely furious as his visage radiated a palpable aura of power. As quickly as the pressure had come, it disappeared as Dumbledore visibly calmed himself. Barely a second had passed. "I apologise for my outburst." Dumbledore said, a bit tersely. "I never did agree with letting those creatures loose on the grounds. To hear they would do such a thing to one of my students is…upsetting." Harry couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that as he thought that may have won the understatement of the century. Dumbledore chuckled at Harry's slightly incredulous look. "Again, I apologise. Do go on, my boy."

"Well at first it felt awful, the worst I can remember ever feeling." Harry paused a second, but when no new outburst seemed imminent, he went on. "Then, right before I thought I was lost, I felt weird. Like I was loose from my body, getting sucked towards an endless swirling… I can truly only describe it as a void. Even though that's not exactly right either… it was...Dark" Harry shuddered as he remembered that utterly empty feeling before soldiering on. "The weird thing is…there was something else there too. Something that was stuck to my... soul I guess? But it got loose too." At this. Dumbledore, if possible, straightened even further in his chair. His eyes devoid of their usual twinkle as he looked at Harry with a serious gaze. "That's when the patronus came and knocked the dementor away." Harry forced himself to keep looking the headmaster in the eyes as he told Dumbledore how the essence of the other thing had been flung into the void, while he rushed back to his body, keeping consciousness just long enough to see himself across the lake.

"And you think this other thing, was the piece of Voldemort's power inside of you?" Dumbledore asked softly. At Harry's nod, Dumbledore seemed to consider what to say before gathering himself. "You know Harry, ever since you brought Tom's diary to my attention last year, and I formed the theory that Voldemort put some of himself into you all those years ago, I have been researching what kind of magic is capable of such feats." At seeing Harry's now questioning gaze he added "I did not find much yet, but what I did find is of such a dark nature, that I will not utter it here. I did however, find a spell to discover when such pieces of magic are present. I would like to use this spell to see if you are truly free of that piece of Voldemort." Harry agreed at once. "Whenever you're ready sir." At this Dumbledore drew his wand. Harry didn't speak as Dumbledore waved it in intricate patterns, muttering under his breath in a language Harry didn't recognise. There wasn't a flash of light, or any other outward sign of magic, but that didn't seem to matter to the headmaster as Dumbledore sagged in his chair, looking thoughtful and for all intents and purposes completely lost to the world.

"Sir?" Harry nervously asked after a minute. Dumbledore looked up in surprise, before giving Harry a genial smile. "Sorry my boy, I was lost in my thoughts. Something I find happens more and more as I grow older. In any case, I'm pleased to say that if ever a piece of Voldemort was inside of you, it is gone now." An indescribable flood of relief coursed through Harry at those words. He felt as if an immense weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Still." Dumbledore continued, his piercing blue eyes holding a steady gaze on Harry's. "I would be remiss if I didn't say that soul magic is mysterious at the best of times. Soul magic is a poorly understood discipline, even after thousands of years of study by the most brilliant minds in history. But all who study it agree on one thing: It is dangerous to meddle with the soul, and more often than not the results are unpredictable and worrisome. Therefore, I must ask you to let me know if anything strange or unusual happens that you think might be related to the events with the dementor. Anything at all, no matter how minor, no matter if the effects seem positive or negative. I need you to promise me that Harry." The sheer weight behind the headmasters gaze made Harry agree at once and the headmaster relaxed again. "Now, I feel I have taken up enough of your time, my boy. I'm sure you wouldn't wish to miss the end of year feast." Harry, recognising the dismissal for what it was, got up to leave before stopping at the door. "Thank you for confirming I'm free of Voldemort's magic in me, sir. You have no idea how relieved I am." Dumbledore smiled at him. "I can imagine my boy."

As Harry shut the door behind him, Dumbledore's genial grandfatherly look faded into the wizened general that had steered wizarding Britain through the last two wars. As he turned to his thoughts once more, a grim satisfied smile crept onto his face. Glad and so immensely relieved that he could abandon the only, horrid, plan to rid the world of Voldemort he had been able to conceive. After all his regrets and mistakes, after all the guilt he felt from his long life, he could do this one last thing right at least. Harry could live after all, he would make sure of it. He owed the boy that much at least. "I can imagine indeed." He softly muttered to himself, as the old wizard started planning anew.