"Mom, Dad I can't believe you are in that painting, why are you in that painting?" Harry said with considerable shock.
James said with a frown, "Why don't you know about paintings? Didn't Sirius or the Longbottoms have ancestral paintings where they lived?"
"James I don't think he has seen a magical painting before. Harry who have you been living with, are they muggles?" Lily said realizing something had happened to her baby to not know about the magical world.
"Oh yeah, Um, I have been with my Aunt Petunia and Vernon Dursley."
"What! You were never to go to them. They hate magic and everyone associated with it. You were to go to Sirius or the Longbottoms." Lily screamed.
"I don't know who those are. I think I remember Hagrid saying Dumbledore put me here. But why are you in that painting?"
Lily and James look at each other, then James says, "You can have a painting commissioned where when that person dies part of their essence will go into the painting and then they wake up."
"So you know Hagrid? Does he come by visit then to make sure you are alright?" James asked, "do you know what happened to Sirius, or Alice or Frank?"
"What? Oh no. I met him a couple days ago when he came to get me for my Hogwarts school supplies." Harry replied, "I don't know Sirius or Alice or Frank, I am sorry sir."
"But you can't be more than 8 or 9. Are you starting early?" James asked, "you are quite small."
"No I am 11. Just had my birthday a couple days ago. I know I am smaller than other kids, but I am 11."
"You should definitely be taller by now. You should get a magical checkup and get that metamorphmagus block taken out."
"What's a metamorphmagus?" Harry asked looking puzzled.
"We think you became a metamorphmagus when you got blood adopted by Sirius Black, since it runs in his family. It allows you to morph your face or even the rest of your body to whoever you want."
"That means I can go out without being recognized as the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry said grinning "wicked!"
James and Lily not knowing what that means asks him and then Harry tells them everything from the first Hogwarts letter that was delivered, to Hagrid picking him on from the shack on the sea, to getting mobbed at the Leaky Cauldron, to going down to his vault and buying his things.
James and Lily look at each, then James says, "First of all you don't have to stay with Dursleys. In fact you shouldn't even be with them. But at the very least you should put this trunk out on their yard and live there. Just use your invisibility cloak to enter and leave. You need to find out what type of wards are on the place before leaving this place for good, could be useful to stay here if the wards are strong not to mention you don't have to worry about switching guardians if you stayed here. You should ask the goblins to look into it while you go over your investments with them and ask them what happened to Sirius and the Longbottoms."
"What's an invisibility cloak and what investments?" Harry asked.
"The Potter invisibility cloak is an Heirloom item so all you have to do is think hard about it and say 'Come for the', and by wearing you will be invisible to all muggles plus 99percent of magical. As for investments, that little vault you went to is just your trust vault that we opened it in your name when you were born. That is just a fraction of what you have in Potter Family vault." James said, "I am afraid there is not much land in the family but we are wealthy."
Harry looks at him, closes his eyes, thinks real hard about the cloak, and then says "Come Forth". Out of thin air came a long silvery thin cloak. "Wow, is there anything else that is an heirloom item?"
"The Potter lordship, ladyship and heir rings, and I also made this trunk into an heirloom item. So no matter where you are you can summon it and hide if you have to. You might be able to summon the Black headship or heir ring too depending on what happened with Sirius and his mother. He had the heir ring on him last, but his mother could only hold onto it but couldn't wear the Black headship ring since theirs doesn't allow a female to wear it. So go ahead and try to summon the rings. This will make working with the goblins easier"
Harry summons the Potter rings, then tries to summon the Black rings, but only gets the heir ring which stinks like a dirty public restroom. 'Man this ring stinks. I need to wash this off.' He goes to the little bathroom nearby that just has a sink and a toilet wash off the ring and his hands, then he puts the Potter lordship and Black heir rings on surprised as the shrunk to size.
"Why will these make working with the goblins easier?" Harry asked his father.
"They have a magic in them that uniquely identifies what they are and also only allows those that supposed to have them to actually wear them. So goblins will automatically know who you are and Family Vaults only allow those wearing those rings to enter them. And that is what you are going to need to do first. That is go to Gringotts, check out your investment since they have been frozen until now, and while there have their healers check you out." James said.
"How do I get to Gringotts? I am stuck here at the Dursleys with just wizard money."
"Summon the Knight Bus by stepping to a street curb and sticking your wand out, it generally cost a few sickles. But watch out it seems to appear very suddenly."
"OK seems simple enough."
"If it is, then tell me what's your plan so you don't miss anything." Lily asked with a smile.
"So let see here. First put on the invisibility cloak. Climb out of the trunk. Move the trunk outside. Have some money ready. Summon the bus and ask it to go Leaky Cauldron on Charring Cross Road. Go straight to Gringotts ask for on one of the managers so I can go over my investments and ask to schedule a visit from one of their healers."
"Sounds good. Don't forget to ask the goblins to assess the wards here. But first go the Potter Library compartment get the Occulumency book to read for anytime you are just waiting, plus on the left hand desk a leather bound portfolio that has an up to date listing Potter money and investments. Finally, please take the invisibility cloak off before entering the bank. Many of the goblins can see through it, but they don't like you to wear it without ask them first." James said.
"Why the Occulumency book?" Harry asked.
"There are people out there that can read your thoughts and learning Occulumency defends against it, plus it makes learning new things much easier." Lily said.
Harry got out of the trunk with the plan in mind and got ready to head to the bank. He decided to wear his school robe and cloak as they were much better than the rags he normally wore and he did his best with his hair finally giving up as that was a lost cause. Unless he grew it out he would never get it to lay flat.