Despite the delay, Harry succeeded in reaching the train station a few minutes before Hermione arrived. She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek when they met.
"Why did you come by train? You could have just come into my room, like last night," he said.
She smiled. "How could I explain this to my parents? Besides, Dad likes driving me to the train station. I wouldn't take that from him. It may also make Selma suspicious."
"Selma already knows. We weren't quiet enough," he admitted, blushing a bit.
"How did she take it?"
"I think she was a bit hurt. I said that I wouldn't cheat on you, and she said, 'But you don't mind cheating on me.' I had to tell her that it's very different." He noticed she was paler than a few hours earlier. "Are you feeling well?"
"I'm fine. It's just that my period started soon after I reached home."
"Does it hurt?"
Hermione smiled, glad that he cared so much for her. "No, usually not, although it may hurt at times, and some women hurt more than others. It's normally no worse than a pin-prick. More of a nuisance than real pain."
"So, what do you suggest we do today?" As always, since he got to know her, just being in her company made him feel much happier.
"Well, after having alerted the whole hotel to my visit, I think we should find some ways to keep our privacy. There was nothing about such charms in the books we've already read, which means…"
"Back to Diagon Alley," Harry completed the sentence.
As they went to the underground station, Harry stopped in front of a mirror. Once again he used Elf magic. This time he made his scar invisible and cast a mild notice-me-not on his whole face. Whoever would see him would only notice a boy, but would be unable to see his exact features. Hermione was still unaffected. "I think that we are starting to bond and it makes us always fully aware of each other," she noted.
"Then why didn't I know you've got your period?"
"You may have sensed something, but been unable to interpret it. We don't really know anything about this bond."
They reached Diagon Alley with no problems. When Harry saw the big white building of Gringotts it reminded him. "I need to visit the bank as well. I'd like to make sure I have enough money to buy some things beyond necessities. Maybe I should do this first, before burdening ourselves with books?"
Hermione was a bit reluctant. The only time she had previously visited there, with her parents, the goblins seemed very intimidating and not welcoming at all, yet Harry had already told her how helpful they'd been to him. It was worth a try. Besides, she didn't want to wait for him somewhere else.
Harry approached a teller. "I'd like to see whoever manages my account," he said.
"Your name?"
"Harry Potter."
The goblin teller seemed to change his attitude immediately. "Please wait a moment, Mr Potter, while I go and fetch your account manager."
They didn't have to wait long, as the teller returned promptly with another, older goblin. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought this was the one who sent Bill to help him. "Good morning, Mr Potter, Miss. Please come to my office, where we may discuss our business privately."
The children followed the goblin to an ornate office, where they were offered two comfortable chairs in front of the desk, where the goblin sat behind.
"Before we can proceed, I must take a drop of your blood to verify your identity, especially since I don't see your famous scar."
"Oh, that…" Harry concentrated for a moment, making his scar visible again, also removing the other charm.
"I can see it now, but I still need a more precise identification." He passed a parchment to Harry, along with a miniature dagger. "Just make a small cut on your finger and put a drop of blood on the marked square of the parchment. Once it's done, the cut will heal immediately."
Harry did as requested, letting a drop fall on his parchment. His cut was sealed and healing even before he passed the dagger back.
They both watched with fascination as the parchment filled with lines and words, not quite understanding what they meant. The goblin took a glance at the finished parchment and continued. "Let me first introduce myself: I'm Sharpclaw, your main account manager. I've been handling the Potter accounts for the last twenty-nine years, and I hope you'll consider my work good enough to let me keep this job.
"Before we can continue, though, I need to know who the young lady is, assuming you want her to take part in this."
"She's my very good friend, Hermione Granger, and I have no secrets from her," Harry declared.
The Goblin smiled, keeping his mouth closed. "As much as I appreciate this, I also need a precise identification of her." He took another parchment and the dagger and moved them in front of Hermione. "Please, Miss…"
Hermione grimaced as she took the dagger and checked it for cleanliness. She then did as requested, passing back the dagger and the parchment. Sharpclaw waited for the parchment to fill before continuing.
"Now, I'd like you to take a good look at the parchments you've just used. You may find some facts about yourselves which you haven't known before." He moved the parchments back in front of the children.
Harry looked at his parchment.
Name: Harry James Potter
Parents: James and Lily Potter (deceased)
Marital Status: Soul bound to Hermione Granger (not finished)
Betrothals: none
Vassals: Weasley, Brown
Allies: Longbottom, Bones, Greengrass
Known enemies: Thomas Riddle Junior (AKA Voldemort), Severus Snape.
Godparents: Sirius Black, Alice Longbottom
Magical abilities: Charms (mastery), Potions (mastery), Defence (mastery), Animagus, Metamorphmagus, Parselmouth, Occlumency, Legilimency (mastery)
Ancestry: Potter, Gryffindor, Peverell, Slytherin
Lodgings: Potter Manor (unplottable), Potter house (Godric Hollow) – partly destroyed, The Mistress's apartment (Diagon Alley) – currently rented by Flourish and Blotts, The Concubine's apartment (Diagon Alley) – currently rented by Quality Quidditch Supplies,…
Harry didn't look any further. It was quite overwhelming already. He glanced at the other parchment, though.
Name: Hermione Jean Granger
Parents: David and Jean Granger
Marital Status: Soul bound to Harry Potter (not finished)
Betrothals: none
Magical abilities: Charms (mastery), Potions (mastery), Defence (mastery), Transfiguration (mastery), Ancient runes (mastery), Arithmancy (mastery), Animagus, Occlumency, Legilimency (mastery)
Ancestry: Ravenclaw…
He stopped there. "What is the meaning of our ancestry?"
The goblin seemed content to answer that question. "It means that you are a direct descendant of the names mentioned there. In your case, the Potters are known as descendants of both Gryffindor and Peverell. The Slytherin ancestry must have come from your mother, though, as it has never been in the Potter line. As for your friend, she's the first person to be able to claim that ancestry for almost a millennium."
"Aren't these the same as the Hogwarts house names?"
"Yes, these are the names of the founders. The Bones family is known as the descendant of the fourth founder – Hufflepuff.
"Now, a very peculiar fact may interest you. Most of the current noble families only grant the position of Head of House, or Lordship, to adult wizards, yet some of the older ones had lower limit or no limit at all. You may only take your Potter Lordship after reaching fourteen, but Peverell can be taken at twelve while Gryffindor, Slytherin and Ravenclaw have no such limit. You can claim these lordships immediately, although their usefulness is quite limited."
"And what's the meaning of that bond? Why is it unfinished?" Hermione asked.
Sharpclaw turned more serious. "A soul bond is a very strong bond between two people. Once completed, it cannot be undone by any known means, Soul bound couples are considered married. As for completing – that's what Muggles call consummating the marriage. You're both too young for that. I'm sure it will come naturally as you grow up."
Harry wasn't sure what it meant, but Hermione blushed quite nicely. He would ask her later.
What they had initially thought of as a brief visit to the bank, eventually occupied their whole morning. Sharpclaw gave them an overview of the Potter accounts and suggested some alternative investments. They agreed, knowing no better. They then visited the Potter vault, as well as the Slytherin and Ravenclaw ones. Harry couldn't yet take the Lord Potter ring, due to his age, but he took the Gryffindor and the Slytherin rings and Hermione took the Ravenclaw one. Harry still found a pair of friendship rings, one for each, that he was allowed to take out. He promptly gave the feminine one to Hermione and put on the masculine version. They ordered their rings to become invisible, as advised. They were too overwhelmed to pay much attention to the rest, although Hermione still noticed that each vault contained a large collection of ancient books.
Just before leaving the bank, Harry applied his charms again, making his scar invisible and his face unnoticed. They went to the restaurant where Bill had taken them and had a silent lunch, each deep in thought.
"We should still buy those books we had in mind before going to the bank," Hermione reminded him, as they were sipping their pumpkin juice, after the meal.
"Yes, although I doubt we will be able to read them today. My head is spinning with all the information we got there."
"Mine too, but if we buy them today, it may spare us another visit to Diagon Alley."
Harry smiled tiredly. "That's a good incentive to do it today."
They didn't spend much time at the bookstore, quickly finding the books they wanted, yet they did glance at the apartments above the shop and at the other one mentioned, wondering how they were inside. Harry didn't give it much thought, though. The list on the parchment was quite long, including some houses and apartments in other parts of London, as well as other cities around the world. He only wondered where he would eventually like to live.
"Where should we go now?" Harry asked as they left the alley.
"The library?" she suggested.
"Alright. It already feels almost like home."
It didn't take them long to reach the library and sit at "their" table once again.
Despite feeling tired, after the long visit at the bank, it was easy enough to find a spell to silence a room, making no sound escape outside. They weren't sure where to try it.
"We can go to your hotel room and try it there," Hermione suggested.
Harry didn't know what Selma would say if she saw them there, but he didn't think it would change much. They left the library but didn't feel like riding the underground and then walking to the hotel. They found a secluded place in one of the corridors leading to the underground station and immediately moved magically to Harry's room.
Hermione then asked, "I feel a bit tired now, probably due to my period. I feel like I could use a nap. Do you mind?"
Harry didn't mind. Actually, with the way this summer was going, he felt like he needed some more sleep, just to let his mind catch up with the events. He nodded approvingly.
Hermione quickly removed most of her clothes, staying in only her training bra and her knickers, urging Harry to do the same. She then cuddled into him and they both fell asleep.
They woke up as someone was trying to open the door. Harry was glad that he remembered to lock it before going to bed. "Who is it?" he asked.
"Harry? I didn't know you were in. I need to clean the room," he heard Selma's voice.
"I'm tired. Skip cleaning it today, will you?" He really sounded sleepy.
"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I just need some more sleep. I'll get up in another hour or so."
"Fine. Sleep tight," they heard Selma, as she moved to the next room in the corridor. Harry hugged Hermione, who was also awakened, closer, and resumed his slumber.
Harry woke up, feeling well refreshed, about an hour later. Hermione was also stirring awake. "I need the bathroom," she said apologetically, quickly moving there. A moment later, he heard her, "Harry, can you bring me my tampons? They're in the small front pocket of my backpack, in a purple package."
Harry blushed at seeing the text on the package, but brought it obediently, gaining himself a warm smile from Hermione. She came out a bit later, looking relieved and refreshed. "Do you want to read a bit? I need to take the train back soon enough."
"You can fade back to your room if you want," Harry reminded her.
She looked at the bedside clock. "My parents will be home in about an hour. I can stay with you for half an hour and then fade home. Mum knows I've got my period, so she'll think it made me return home early. We can still read a bit. We should get dressed first, though."
It was easy enough to find a spell to silence a room, making no sound escape outside. They tried it on the bathroom door and were quite pleased with the results. Neither used a wand, not even giving it a thought.
With that achievement fresh in her mind, they spent some more time reading before Hermione faded away. Harry checked the room, to make sure there were no signs left of her presence, not wanting to cause any questions, and then unlocked the door and went out for dinner.