Chapter 168 - A Will and Key

Glancing about, Rowan slowly wanders up the staircase to the rooms above. Frowning she mutters to herself, "Now where could Charlus Potter Jr.'s room be?" She simply couldn't go about breaking down every single door as she wasn't allowed to use a wand.

Pondering this question, she slowly walks down the hallway glancing at each door for some sort of divine sign. Passing past one of the last doors in the corridor, Rowan paused and takes a step back. There carved under the latch is a small symbol that of a circle inside of a triangle that has a line straight through the middle, the Deathly Hallows.

Carefully trying the lock, Rowan finds to her utter surprise that the door is unlocked. With a bit of wariness, she pushes the door open as a soft whine is heard as the door swings open. Slowly stepping inside she finds that there is nothing amiss about the guest bedroom. It certainly wasn't Charlus Potter Jr.'s bedroom, but rather a guest room.

It could just be a coincidence, but there were no such things as coincidences in life. Still, Rowan took a closer at the guest room. There was nothing under the bed nor in the drawers or the closet. She even went as far as to check the bedroom furniture for false drawers and looking behind the furniture including the bedroom paintings. With a tired sigh, she is finally forced to give up after checking even under the carpet.

Closing the door behind her, Rowan was about to turn back before spotting the symbol again on the lower corner of the grandfather clock in the middle of the hallway. Following in the direction of the symbol, she went further and further into the home until she arrived at a full-length mirror in the hallway. Glancing around the back of the mirror, she didn't see anything as she frowned at her reflection in the spotless glass.

"Maybe, the trail starts here instead," Rowan softly concluded out loud before seeing something flicker in the reflection like water. Turning rather still, she leans forward for a closer look but doesn't see anything amiss. About to dismiss the flickering in her reflection as a figment of her imagination, she sees the ripple again.

Recalling a certain mirror back at Hogwarts, she takes a deep breath before stretching out her hand. Rowan almost pulls away at seeing her hand touch a dry water-like surface. Stretching her hand further in, she feels something like an envelope. Pulling her hand back out, she finds a perfectly sealed envelope with the Potter crest and the initials, C.P.JR.

Glancing about, Rowan leans back against the wall and cracks open the seal. Pulling the letter out from inside, she reads,

"To whoever that finds this,

I, Charlus Potter Jr., being of sound and body bequeath the entire contents of vault #113 to them. This is an officially signed will and has been recorded with the goblins as well. May luck be on your side. And may you fare better than I.

Sincerely,

Charlus Potter Jr.

Witnessed by Dulag, Goblin Lawyer of Gringotts.

Witnessed by Bogrod, Goblin Clerk of Gringotts.

Witnessed by Gornuk, Goblin Employee of Gringotts."

Glancing inside, Rowan does indeed see a shiny golden key for a vault. Smiling slightly in approval she says, "Clever, clever, boy. But not clever enough as the monster from underneath the bed got you in the end."

Carefully folding the will back up she tucks the letter into the envelope with the key and carefully seals it shut with the wax. Tucking the letter safely into her pocket, she returns downstairs to search for the library. To her delight, the Potter library was quite vast and held a variety of books. Glancing about Rowan searched for a title or two of interest and quickly sat down for a read. Her peace didn't last very long as the old house elf popped out before her.

"Madam Potter requests the guest's presence in the parlor!" Pookey stared at Rowan as if asking her why she hadn't left yet. With a sigh, she closed the book shut and headed back to the parlor. And things were just getting good too.

Rowan returned to the parlor to find both women gasping with laughter. "Madame Potter?" Rowan loudly said as Dorea wiped the tears of mirth out of her eyes as Georgine tried not to laugh only to fail miserably with a rather loud snort.

"Ah, there you are dear," Dorea breathlessly said. "Come join us for a cup of tea."

"Yes, Madame Potter," Rowan dutifully said as she took a seat across from them. Suddenly, Pookey appeared causing Rowan to almost fall out of her seat as Pookey began to pour tea for her, before disappearing. Glaring at the spot, where the house elf once was, Rowan grudgingly takes the poured tea and sips the scented rose tea.

"Ah, we were just discussing you, my dear," Dorea said with a grin. "I heard that you and your brother have some of the highest marks in your overall grade."

"Yes, Severus and I both did rather well on our past exams."

"No need to be so modest, dear. It is a fine thing to admit when one is clever. The tricky part comes when knowing not to boast about it."

Georgine snorts and interrupts them. "I recall a yet unwed Black maiden bragging to all the girls in Slytherin about her incredible charms."

Dorea blushes and protests, "Those were the follies of youth!"

"Mm, so you say," Georgine muttered with a raised eyebrow.

"Really, Georgine!" Dorea puffed as she pouted at Georgine's words.

Georgine innocently shrugged as Rowan tactfully took another sip of her tea, before saying "Madame Potter?"

"Yes, dear child?" Dorea blinked with a smile.

"I noticed that you had a son in the family photos including a final portrait. Would it be too bold of me to ask what happened to him?" Rowan further inquired.

Dorea becomes still for a moment, before softly saying, "It is a subject I do not to like dwell on, child. But suffice to say that he was searching for something, I'm not sure what. And in the end that got him killed."

"I thought Charlus passed away from a dark curse?" Georgine said with a frown as she sat up in her seat.

"Aye, he did," Dorea painfully said as her lips turned white. "However, he was searching for something at the time. I don't know if it was cast upon him or if he found that which he sought. All I know is that he had written that he would return to his see his sickened father at the time. But, then merely two days later, a note was sent to us that our son was under a dark curse and passed away swiftly within a week!"

Georgine purses her lips as Rowan says, 'Thank you, Madame. Potter. It was not my intention to cause you any harm."

"It's alright child," Dorea sniffed. "But it still hurts after all this time."

The rest of the teatime is rather subdued before they say goodbyes and go on their merry way. And though Tadbey did appear when summoned there was a rather silent glaring match between Georgine and that of Tadbey. Whatever had started them on the wrong foot had only increased over the passing of time.