"Now, back to some pleasanter topics. Care to tell me how come you're married?" Sirius asked.
Harry glanced at Hermione as if consulting with her, and then turned back to the two men. "After finishing my shopping for Hogwarts, Hagrid left me at the train station to return home on my own, as I said I could. Once he left, I also left, searched for a cheap hotel and rented a room for the whole month. Gringotts helped me with that and even let an employee help me at the hotel. He suggested I buy some more books. I met Hermione at the book store and we became fast friends. Our friendship created the bond, eventually, as officially announced by Gringotts."
Sirius looked like he wanted to tease him but held back at the last second. "I'm sure there's more to it, but the details are irrelevant for now." He then sighed. "I was going to offer to become your guardian, as your parents wanted, but it looks like I lost my chance."
"I may not need a guardian now, but I can still value a godfather, an advisor and a kind of uncle if nothing else. Besides, If you blood-adopted me, aren't you also a kind of father to me?"
Sirius chuckled slightly. "I suppose I am. Not a very good father until now, I admit."
Harry turned serious. "Currently, Hermione's parents are acting as my parents too. I feel like I may need parents for many years to come, and you are very welcome to be one."
Remus laughed. "Prongs would have liked to see you take the role of a father. I'm not sure Lily would have appreciated that, though. Padfoot a father? That's practically an oxymoron."
"But you were always Unca Mooey. Don't you remember at your old age?" Sirius retorted, making Remus laugh.
Harry sighed. "While the names sound somewhat familiar, I don't remember anything of my life with my parents. I was too young to remember, I think."
Sirius smiled understandingly. "Nobody remembers their early childhood, at least not consciously. Moony and I can tell you a bit about that time, although we were quite busy with the war and didn't visit as often as we'd liked. I can tell that you were an adorable baby. I was irresponsible enough to bring you a toy broom when you reached nine months. You could barely crawl at the time, but you took to broom flying as if it was in your nature. I then had to work really hard to make Lily forgive my stupidity, and also calm the cat, that you frightened by flying directly towards its head. You were laughing for joy the whole time."
Remus chuckled. "I visited about a week later. The cat still looked scared, but you were flying like a pro. Lily was torn between pride in your performance and scolding all of us for our lack of maturity and responsibility."
"What happened to the cat after Halloween?" Harry asked.
Sirius shook his head sadly. "It was an old cat. Lils told us it was a wonder it still lived. I think it survived the attack, but died some time later. The neighbours also used to like it, so it probably lived well enough for as long as it had."
Remus gave it some thought. "I think there are a few photos with you and the cat. They should be in your album if it survived that night."
"I know nothing about it," Harry commented, a bit dejectedly.
"I'll go visit that house and see if I can find something. It's also possible that Dumbledore collected all the magical items and hid them, or maybe just stowed them in your vault. The muggle police came to investigate within hours of the event, you should know," Remus told them.
"I'll check at Gringotts," Harry said. "I'm not sure I know where that house is, though."
"Didn't it appear on your list of assets?" Sirius asked.
"It probably did, but either I didn't notice or can't remember. Our first encounter with my account manager was a bit overwhelming for us. Neither of us was ready for all we were told."
"Well, it's at Godric Hollow, a small town where a few magical families have lived for hundreds of years along with muggle ones. A very picturesque place, I must say."
"Maybe I should go and visit there," Harry said.
"We'll go visit there during the summer," Hermione said.
They spent another hour talking. The children were eager to hear about Harry's parents and the two Marauders were just as happy to tell. The children also talked about how they met and how they studied together, not using wands.
"Let me understand. Can you really cast all the first-year spells without a wand?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, and we already studied most of the second-year spells too, and some spells not in the curriculum," Hermione said.
"You must be very powerful with magic to do so," Remus commented.
"We don't feel more powerful than others. Casting wandlessly is more natural, I think," Hermione said. "Besides, we can concentrate better than most and we both pay attention to details, unlike many children our age. I'm still much better at noticing details than Harry," she added with a chuckle.
Remus seemed to contemplate an idea but discarded it with a shake of his head. Sirius only seemed delighted. Even his eyes showed merriment, losing most of their haunted look. That also made the children more content. They liked helping others.
With lunchtime approaching, they finished their meeting, not before both men promised to visit some more.
"I hope to see you healthier when you come next time," Harry told Sirius, who just hugged him in response.
"I'll make sure that he follows the healers' instructions to the letter," Remus told them. "I also want to see him fully recuperated, you know."
They parted at the door of McGonagall's office. The men went in to return by Floo to where they came from and the children walked leisurely to the great hall.
–..–
"Do you think we may ask Sharpclaw about the albums?" Harry asked.
Hermione considered her reply. "I'm not sure. If they are there, they probably came in a box along with whatever else was salvaged from the house. He may know of some boxes, but not necessarily what they contain."
"Then, I'd like to check that. We can visit Gringotts during the weekend, I suppose."
Hermione nodded understandingly. "I think Gringotts is open seven days a week, but wouldn't it be politer to set a meeting with Sharpclaw in advance?"
Harry gave it a moment of thought and shook his head. "We don't need him to visit our vaults only. We can simply go to one of the tellers, as far as I know."
Hermione smiled after recalling that information. "Yes. That should be alright, I believe."
–..–
That weekend, they used the Floo to reach Gringotts and asked to visit the Potter vault. An unpleasant ride later, they were looking at the vault. They had both seen it once before, but they had been unable to pay it much attention at the time. This time, since it was their main concern, they became very aware of its size and of the many possessions stored within. There were a few high mounds of gold and one each, much smaller, of silver and bronze coins.
"I don't remember ever seeing so much gold," Harry blurted.
"Neither have I," Hermione agreed.
Yet this was not what they had come for. They looked around, trying to find anything that could point to where some albums or other items salvaged from the cottage could be. Most of the vault's space was arranged in rows of cabinets and shelves, reminiscent of some supermarkets. About half the shelves were filled with books and scrolls. The rest contained various objects, most of them unidentifiable from where they stood. Turning back to the wall with the door, they saw some more cabinets. Well, one of them held the various rings, where their rings had waited for them until recently. On another, they saw a few carton boxes of various sizes.
"I think we should check these boxes first. They don't seem to fit with the rest," Harry said.
Hermione had to force herself to look away from the library that filled about half the vault. "Yes, that's right," she answered distractedly, making Harry chuckle.
"You'll have time to check the library after we find what we're here for, or we may even come only for that at another time," he told her before she could frown at his reaction.
Hermione nodded, relieved by his promise but also a bit miffed by his chuckle.
Harry grabbed the largest box and Hermione grabbed another, each opening and rummaging through the contents. Both contained some wizarding robes at the top. Harry found some albums and put them aside. Hermione found two wands and two holsters. She took them out reverently and put them on the top of the cabinet. 'Harry, I think you want to see these,' she told him silently. This seemed too solemn a moment to use voice, so she felt.
Harry's attention was already on the albums and he was just opening the top one. 'Uh?' he answered eloquently.
'I found your parents' wands.'
That brought his attention back. He turned to look at the two wands with some tears glistening at the corners of his eyes. He took one and then the other in his hands, caressing them lightly before putting them down. "They feel warm in my hand," he said in a whisper.
Hermione pushed the holsters in his direction. He put a wand in each. "We shall take them with us," he said in a decisive tone.
He then smiled apprehensively. "I found a few albums, not sure about their contents, but I'd like to take them all with us."
Hermione nodded. She waved her hand, conjuring a large business suitcase, large enough for the albums and with room enough for the wands. They still checked the contents of those two boxes, finding a few framed photos that joined the albums. They then put the rest back into the boxes before returning to the cart that took them back to the teller hall.
–..–
It was already lunchtime when they arrived, and their grumbling stomachs dictated they make lunch their priority. Luckily, they found places far from Ron, making lunch much pleasanter. Neville sat near them but didn't bother them with questions. He probably saw their pensive mood and thought it was something private. Well, it was.
Harry was quite reluctant to look at what they brought from the vault despite his curiosity. "In a way, it could destroy the images of my parents I have in my mind. I'm no longer sure it was wise…" he trailed off.
Hermione tried to help. "Harry, you would have felt extremely curious had we not done this. I can understand your reluctance, but you also know they were real people, with good and bad points for each, not just some images. I think it would be better for you to get to know them as people, with all their imperfections and problems. They will only make your parents look more real."
Harry sighed. "You're probably right, dear." He thought for a moment and then started taking out some things. "I'd like us to check their wands, first. Although it looks like neither of us needs a wand, having a spare may prove prudent in some cases."
He took out his own wand first and cast "Lumos," for the reference.
He then took each of the other wands and tried the same. Neither gave as much light, but both responded well enough.
"Your turn now," he said, pushing both wands towards Hermione.
She checked just the same, achieving very similar results.
That made her think. "I wonder…"
A moment later, she spoke again. "Let me try to cast with your wand while you cast with mine. The results may prove… educational."
Harry went first. He took Hermione's wand and cast. To his surprise, the light seemed just as bright. If there was any difference, it was insignificant.
Hermione went next. She first cast with her wand, for the reference, and then used Harry's, getting very similar results. That brought a smile to her face, although Harry stayed confused. "You see, we both bought our wands before we met each other. We hadn't done this experiment then, so we can't know what the results would have been, but since the wands differ widely, I suspect neither wand would have worked well for the other person. Then, we bonded. In a way, we merged, or our magic merged. Now, whatever suits one will suit the other too."
"Are you sure?"
Her smile widened. "I can't be completely sure. I doubt anybody can even do such an experiment. Still, I may try to cast with your parents' wands again, as a different trial, if you allow."
"Of course, dear. You didn't even need to ask."
Hermione tried. One of the wands responded slightly better than the other, but both responded well enough. Harry thought that they even responded to her slightly better, but he wasn't sure. "What does this mean for us, though?" he asked.
It took Hermione a bit longer to form a reply. "I think that our bond is more meaningful than we initially thought. Whichever wand is usable for one is just as usable for the other, so it seems. I'm not sure what else it may mean. I'm not even sure if anybody has a reasoned reply to that, mainly due to lack of information." Her expression changed. "Now, why won't we start looking at the various photos?"
Harry first took the framed images. One was of a young bride and groom who looked fiercely in love, kissing passionately and waving to the viewer in a kind of, "Leave us alone for now." There was no doubt who these were.
Another showed a newborn looking out of his frame and yawning. The same boy, slightly older, appeared in another image, smiling a toothless smile and waving. An older version, riding a toy broom, zoomed across another frame.
Two frames contained muggle photos. One was of a redheaded girl, a slightly older blonde and their parents. Harry studied them attentively. The redhead was clearly Lily. The older girl must have been Petunia. She looked just as happy, engulfing the younger girl in a semi-hug that was clearly not a pose. The woman looked like an older version of the redhead girl, with a slightly rounder face and more freckles. The man had brown hair and green eyes. He was looking at the others with a kind and loving smile.
The other picture was of the same muggle couple, only older. The man looked somewhat tired and his hair had a liberal amount of white in it. The woman looked even worse. Although she had no white in her hair (probably due to using hair dyes,) her face had some worry marks even while she smiled for the camera. Harry had a feeling they already knew of the war against Voldemort at that stage. He also wondered why they died. He suspected they were not much older than forty in that image, so they would have been close to sixty, had they lived. Were they also murdered in the war? He would need to ask Sirius.
Luckily, Hermione didn't lose herself in the albums. "Harry, we still need to finish some homework," she reminded him.
It was the right thing to pull him back. Resuming the normal student tasks was comforting in some ways, allowing Harry's mind to process the latest experiences and come to terms with them. Oh, he would have many questions for Sirius and Remus, whenever he met them next, but these would not prevent him from continuing to live his life as normally as possible.