abcnovels
Chapter 62: Will
Chapter 62: Will
Chapter 62: Will
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I would like to thank my beta, AvidReader2425, for his help in this chapter.
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29th June 1995, Godric's Hollows
(Nathan POV)
It's been a couple of days since Jasmine funeral and the unexpected letter from Gringotts. Nathan was still surprised that his sister had made a will before her death. People her age do not write wills and if they do, they don't have enough galleons for it to matter anyway.
For some reason, Rose has been better ever since we received that letter. Nathan wouldn't say that she was happy, but she didn't feel her overwhelming grief for some reason. She stopped crying all the time and started smiling more. It didn't make any sense to Nathan, but girls never made sense in the first place anyway.
In contrast, Nathan's parents didn't speak to anyone ever since the funeral. His mother was moving by instinct alone, eyes constantly red and dead, without any expression. She did the exact same thing during the last few days. She woke up early, made some breakfast, sat in the living room without moving a muscle until she made lunch. She then went to Jasmine's room. Nathan tried to ignore the heart wrenching sobbing that came out of the room. However, his mother was always back out a few hours later to make dinner and went to bed immediately after.
His father on the other hand, had to go to work. With the rise of dark wizards and creatures arriving from all over the world to hunt Dumbledore for some kind of legendary artifacts, including their family's cloak, every Auror was needed and had to work extra shifts. Nathan only saw his father when he was waking up to have breakfast. He never saw him coming back home, but he knew for a fact that he was as devastated as Nathan's mother. He had treated her horribly; it was his idea to give Jasmine away and it was his idea to kick her out of the family officially in Dumbledore's office.
Nathan understood on some level why they felt so horrible. When Jasmine was missing, as devastated as they must have been of her treatment at the hand of their caretakers, they still held out hope. And hope is a very powerful thing, it was the only thing to stop them from breaking, under the loss of their child. He guessed that with Rose being so young, the responsibility of raising her distracted them somehow and the hope that they would find her gave them an attainable goal.
But now, there was no hope; their daughter was dead. She died hating them, well hating them is a bit harsh, she didn't even acknowledge them in any way. Nathan honestly though that this hurt them more than if she just hated them.
Now, Nathan stopped wallowing in despair like his parents and decided to learn from what happened. It might have been because he and his sister didn't spend too much time together or because he doesn't have any memory of her before this year, but he decided to move on.
Nathan gave himself another purpose. He knew that magical society was broken at almost a fundamental level. So much so, that it was easy for a single man to have enough power to affect his own sister's life and hurt her. It was wrong, too wrong. The idea that only the rich and powerful had their voices heard and acknowledged. The other factions did not matter, werewolves, muggleborns even magical creatures had no voice, no opinion. And he wanted to fix that.
If they lived in a fair world, there wouldn't be a Voldemort, there wouldn't be a Dumbledore, society wouldn't have been divided into two halves, battling against each other.
If they lived in a fair world, his sister would have lived a normal childhood, she would have been alive now, but alas it was not a fair world. But Nathan wanted to make it one. He was not under the delusion that it would be easy or even possible, but he will do his best for the world to be pretty damn close to one.
Nathan was inspired by his sister's world, he would do his best to prove her right, that she was right to believe in him.
Nathan's musing was interrupted by his father's voice, "Nathan, Rose, we're going to Gringotts."
A couple of minutes later, he was ready and went downstairs to the floo, to find his mother, father, and sister, dressed and waiting for him.
After flooing to the leaky cauldron, Nathan and his family walked in the alley to get to Gringotts. He ignored the whispers of the people that recognized him. Some even called him mad and loose in the head, some expressed pity, for his sister to die and him to be tortured on the same day. Nathan ignored their fake sympathies; they were all just sheep that believe whatever the prophet tells them.
They finally arrived in front of Gringotts, and he always felt a bit of awe every time he came there. The bank towers over the other shops with its snowy white faade and bronzed, guarded doors. There was an obvious contrast between the luxurious bank and the rest of the alley. The goblins who built it seemed to want to make a statement.
They entered the bank and read the usual warning against theft that was inside. They kept walking until they arrived in front of a teller who his father just showed him the letter they received. The Goblin just took a look at it and called in another goblin and spoke to him in Gobbledegook. He then turned to Nathan's father, "Griphook will show you to where you are needed" and then continued counting gold as if it was the end of the conversation.
The goblin who Nathan assumes is called Griphook spoke, "Follow me" and just turned around expecting us to follow him. Talk about rude. But they followed him, nonetheless. They arrived in front of an extremely luxurious office. There was a sign on the office's door, but it was also in Gobbledegook, so Nathan didn't understand what it said but they entered, nonetheless.
There was a goblin sitting at the desk. "Ah yes, the Potter family. Please take a seat we will start shortly." They sat down and watched the goblin open a magically enlarged drawer where he spent looking for a simple file for about two minutes.
"Ah, yes. There it is. The will of Jasmin Evanshade. It was quite odd that she asked the goblin nation to execute the will instead of your ministry. Apparently, she wanted an uninvolved party to do it for some reason. Anyway, I, Sharpclaw, shall read the will of Jasmine Evanshade. If anybody objects or disputes any item that has been bequeathed, their gift shall be declared Null and Void and donated to the Chief Beneficiaries."
Nathan looked around in the room and couldn't help but ask the goblin, that he now knows is named Sharpclaw, "Didn't she have a family in America? Why are we the only ones there?"
The goblin responded, "Goblins do not care whatever nonsense you humans do, or whatever nonsensical reasons you do them for. But if you have to know, with the relations between America and Britain is at an all time low, there was already a will reading done in America. This will pertain to the assets that are in Britain, not outside of it."
He continued, "'I, Jasmine Evanshade, Heir of the Sayre Family, of sound Mind and of sound Body, declare this Will to be my Final Will and Testament, voiding all previously filed Will and Testaments. This Will and Testament is dated 7th of June 1995. Now with that out of the way, I made a different will in Britain to make sure my sister is well taken care of, just in case something happens. I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen in the third task, it will be the last time Dumbledore will have access to me and you know what they say, hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
I initially wanted to just have Rose read the will, but I have words to say to every member of the Potter Family. Now firstly, for James and Lily Potter, I only have a few words for you. You have failed me, when you were my parents and when you weren't, but you are not bad people. I know that and always have known that. I just wanted nothing to do with you. I haven't needed a parent in a long time, and you were insistent on becoming mine. I understand that my absence hurt you, but you used your memories of me to impact how you raised Nathan and Rose. Perhaps of things were different, I would have been glad to have you as parents but it's not healthy to wallow in the past and forget to live.
You made me a constant in their life, even when I wasn't there. Your actions got them to make pictures of myself in their minds. They had expectations of who I am and constantly compared themselves to the hypothetical me. You have failed them once, do not do this again. You seem like good people, if only easily led around, I hope you will remember this.
Now onto Nathan Potter, to be honest, we haven't spent time together but the few times we had, you seemed like a nice young man, with a good head on his shoulders and very high potential. You trusted the wrong man, a mistake many people your age make every day. I do not blame you for what happened, and the only thing I can say is that it's better for you to learn from your mistakes and move forward. You have a bright future ahead of you.
Finally, to Rose Potter, my dear sister. You are one of greatest sisters anyone could have, and I certainly wouldn't have enjoyed Hogwarts without you. I hope that you keep training and continue what I have taught you. You have great potential; you only need the resources to achieve it. Which is why, I leave my trust vault of approximately a hundred and fifty thousand galleons for you and a manor in Yorkshire, don't worry the manor is very well warded. And don't get too excited, you and only you will only have access to them when you're seventeen. Last but not least, I give you my ring, as a memento to remember me by, for I shall stay with you always.
Goodbye and Good luck,
Jasmine Evanshade, Heiress of House Sayre'"
Nathan was flabbergasted on the amount of money Jasmine left for Rose. It was more than the Malfoy fortune. He looked at his father and mother and they were gaping as well. His sister was just smiling sadly, eyes watering.
(Rose POV)
Rose was sure now that Jasmine was alive somehow. She knew that her sister was special and was a lot smarter than anyone knew. If she made the will only a few days before the task then she had planned Dumbledore's attack and seeing as she was holding back a lot during their duel, she had planned on losing and faking her death to incriminate Dumbledore. The proof was in the ring, she had never taken it off while she was at Hogwarts, and she definitely wasn't wearing it during the task, or it would have been destroyed. She had planned this. Rose's eyes watered in happiness at the thought her sister was okay but was sure to give her a piece of her mind when she sees her the next time.
The Goblin ignored Rose and her Parents and continued "Now about the ring, it was examined, and it was a simple accessory without any enchantments, Ms. Evanshade just channeled so much of her magic into it that it has an imprint of her magic." He opened a jewelry box, to reveal a ring with a blue almost glowing sapphire on it. There was no further information, but Rose knew that the ring was the key to find out what really happened to her sister. The ring called to her somehow and she grabbed it and put it on. She felt her sister's magic wash over her and comfort her. But nothing else happened.
Disappointed, she asked the Goblin, "Is there anything else."
Sharpclaw just answered, "No."
"Can I take a look for a second?" The goblin seemed offended by her question but handed her the parchment anyway. She took a look, and a few letters were glowing. The ring must have allowed her to read the hidden information.
She read, 'Dearest Sister, I know that as smart as you are, you will figure out what the ring's purpose really is. If you're reading this, it means that you're as brilliant as I think you are. Do not despair, I am alive and well, it was just a way of getting rid of the old man. I needed the entire magical world to understand how much he hurt them. I needed them to learn from their mistakes and be better and this was their wake up call. Just look around and you'll see what I mean. People are starting to think for themselves for the first time in almost a century and after the storm settles, it will be a new society, a better society that rises.
Now, I know you know how much this will hurt you, but I cannot stay with you. You probably gathered that I'm not a normal witch and you're right. I am extremely powerful, but I also have responsibilities to make sure the world keeps on going. A storm is coming, and it will be my most dangerous trial. I need to be ready for it. I left you a present in Hogwarts, in the Room of Requirements. All of your questions will be answered there. But know, I will see you again. But until then, continue learning, continue growing and I know for a fact that you'll be fantastic. I love you, Rose."
Rose kept tearing up and just handed the parchment back to the goblin that eyed her curiously. She stayed quiet on their way back home. She could tell that her parents had gotten better somehow. The visit to the bank had given them some sort of closure. Jasmine always knew what to say to make people feel better. Her mother spoke for the first time in days, "I have to go to Hogwarts to pick some stuff up."
Rose jumped at the chance, "Can I come?" She wanted to know what her sister left her there. Her mother looked at her with surprise on her face. "Are you sure you're up to it?" she asked.
"Yes, I think I am."
Rose Potter was coming to Hogwarts. She had one last mystery to unravel. She was excited, today, she was going to have all her questions answered. She was going to finally know, who was Jasmine Evanshade?