The Slytherin Prince

⁰²| Letter that Changed the World

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The Slytherin Prince

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"Thoughts"

Letter

^Parseltongue^

~~~ July 31, 1990 ~~~

*** Harry's POV ***

I woke to the sound of merry hooting. Wait a minute, hooting? I opened my eyes and saw a beautiful Eagle Owl with rich brown and gold plumage clutching an official-looking envelope in its beak. "Who send mail using birds?". I slowly walked up to the bird trying not to spook it.

It hooted as if to tell me to hurry up. "Are you asking me to hurry up girl?" I asked. It hooted in confirmation and bobbed its head in what looked like a nod.

I gently took the envelope made of luxurious looking parchment from her beak. She nipped my fingers in what I considered an affectionate sort of way. I tried not to jump at the sudden contact.

I cautiously looked over the envelope which was sealed with wax with a crest which looked like an artfully rendered wyvern and had 'Fortius Quo Fidelius' written in Latin, almost like a motto. So it must either be from a school or a very old and powerful organisation, I guessed.

The owl hooted happily and took off, through the window. I just shrugged and opened the envelope, careful not to damage it. Inside was a letter, written in what was unmistakably a quill or a very fancy fountain pen. It was written in high-quality purple ink.

Dear Mr Potter,

Mr Potter, we here at Gringotts have some very serious issues to discuss with you regarding your vaults and Lordships along with your parentage. There have been surprising revelations and plots that we have deemed extremely disturbing and offer our sincere apologies for our part in the crimes.

Please hold the letter and speak the words 'Let the Gold flow' for the instant portkey to activate. We will speak when we meet at last.

Sincerely,

Ragnok,

Head Goblin of Gringotts Wizard Bank, Branch of Great Britain

After reading and re-reading the letter multiple times my head was still spinning. Lordships? Vaults? Plots? Parentage? Goblins? What the heck was going on and most importantly, "What the fuck is a Wizard Bank?!?!".

What the bloody hell was happening?

And what the hell was a 'permanent portkey'?. While these thoughts were swirling around in my head, I was busy pacing, so much so that I almost wore down the wooden floors. What was I supposed to do? Was it just a stupid prank? Who is it from? And, most importantly was all that about Wizards and Goblins real?

Even if it was a joke it wouldn't really hurt to say the phrase and try it out would it? When I was about to say the phrase to 'activate the portkey' I heard a faint knock on my door.

My aunt stuck her neck through the door. "Harry, can I speak to you?" she asked in the voice that she used when we were alone. Then she noticed the parchment in my hand and he eyes widened, almost comically.

She stared open-mouthed at the parchment. Her eyes flicked to my face and back to the parchment so much, I thought her eyes were about pop out of their sockets.

She then looked up at me and asked, "Is that what I think it is? Was it delivered by an owl?" nervously. Now it was my turn to look shocked. "How did you know?" I asked her in barely a whisper. She disregarded my question and asked, "What does it say?".

I repeated the gist of the letter to her and her eyes widened even more if that was possible. She immediately left the room and came back with another letter written on parchment that looked equally as high quality, if worn and wrinkled, as if it was very old and read frequently.

She gave me the letter with its envelope and also gave me a normal letter undoubtedly in her petite script. "Read this once you get to their Bank, only after you leave from here. Yes, you are leaving. It won't be safe for you here any longer. Pack your bags all your clothes everything. You probably won't be coming back here", she said the last part with her eyes red, she looked like she was going to spill some tears but left quickly.

She told me to go say goodbye to Dudley and Uncle Vernon and tell them that an old friend of my parents' is taking me in and sending me to the prestigious private school in Scotland. She told me to tell them that we will never meet again.

I was gaping by then. "Why was she sending me away? Am I not good enough? Is she ashamed of me?", I thought to myself.

She then hurried out of the room and told me to lack my belongings. I packed my clothes and books in a daze and made sure to place my Diary at the very bottom of the fancy roller suitcase my Aunt had given me moments before.

I then walked down the stairs slowly, to the living room, where I could hear Dudley and Uncle Vernon watching the 'telly'. I walked towards them and stood in between the T.V. "Uncle, Dudley, this might be the last day I see you". This statement seemed to shock them, Dudley seemed worried and confused, Uncle Vernon seemed to be frowning in thought.

"My parents' friends are taking me in and I will be attending a private school in Scotland. So...I guess this is goodbye". Both of them still looked confused but nodded and turned their attention back to the TV, but both of them still had a frown on their faces.

I went upstairs and decided to lay down since I needed to leave at around midnight. A few hours later my Aunt came in.

"It's not you Harry, it's not us either. We just can't be together. We are on different sides of a divide and it is very dangerous for us to be together, for you and us".

"You have to understand that Harry", she blinked her tears away. "Your Mother would be so proud of you," she said sadly. "Harry, where you'll be going, I'm not sure you'll need it, much less be able to use. But, just to be sure, I have five hundred pounds for you if you need it", she then handed me a bag of fifty-pound notes.

I gaped at the amount of money in my hands. I'd never held that much money in my hands before. I stuttered out a, "Thanks Aunt Petunia", she just smiled a little, more like a half-hearted grimace. "Go to sleep Harry, I'll wake you up for late dinner at around nine-thirty then you can sleep again until midnight. I'll wake you up then too, to say goodbye".

For the first time in my short life, I didn't know what to say. So I just nodded and went to sleep.