IamPseuIamPseuIamPseuIamPseuIamPseuIamPseuIamPseu


Adventures in Magick


Summary: What if the first friend Harry made in the magical world was a goblin? Curious!Harry.

Characters: Harry Potter, Goblins

AN: I am surprised and pleased at the interest this little one shot gathered. I really did not expect so many of you to express an interest so quickly. You did though and here we are. I hope you enjoy the next chapter of Adventures in Magick.

Ever Yours, Pseu [The clever, magnificent and ridiculously good looking]


I'm through with accepting limits because someone says they're so - Some things I can not change but until I try I'll never know

So if you can't find me look to the western sky - As someone told me lately; everyone deserves a chance to fly

And if I'm flying solo at least I'm flying free - to those who'd ground me take a message back from me

Tell them how I am defying gravity, I'm flying high - Defying gravity!

And nobody, no wizard that there is or was

Is ever gonna bring me down


The Teller cleared his throat, casting a glare about the hall.

Everyone quickly turned away and pretended they were paying attention once more. Hagrid was watching Harry with a vacant expression as if the giant didn't know what to think or his perceptions of the world had somehow been shaken. Harry didn't know what he could possible have done that could be that interesting. Still, he crossed his arms over his chest and studied his shoes. He didn't like attention, let alone the sort that didn't seem like it was positive. He was a freak at home, he didn't need to be one here too. If people were just going to act like this all of the time he might prefer going home and being invisible again. At least than he never got noticed unless he messed up and then he was roughed a bit before he was invisible again. There wasn't any of this constant attention and analyzation.

"Mister Potter, in order to verify your identity we take a sample of your magic and run it through the rune-lock on the main Potter vault. It will access that small piece of your magic and analyze your identity. This process is one created and passed down by older families like your own, it is not Goblin made. However the process of taking this sample of your magic is one we know well. Wizards and Witched have varying levels of power and thus it is impossible to determine the precise measurement needed to have an accurate sample."

He indicated the vial in his hands and then the orb Harry still held. "What we do is use is provide three CPMs. One is a lower power CPM and the other two or of course higher. Each CPM has to levels of its own, a lower and a higher. This is done for maximum accuracy. As your magic is drawn into the orb it is attracted toward the CPM that is closest to your own power level. Generally it takes less than three minutes to find the appropriate CPM and fill the orb. Shortly after your magick is rather drained and the pull stops."

Power levels. He wondered if the title Mage, Wizard and Sorcerer like in the books corresponded to specific levels of power or magical mastery? He knew his headmaster had several titles though he did not know what they represented. Was there a type of magic that came harder or easier depending on your level? Could you improve it? Conceal it? Did everyone get it measured? Was there a way to tell what someone else's power level was without using an orb? He glanced sideways. Hagrid looked uncomfortable and impatient. Harry would have to make his question count or else the giant might have them leave before Harry got to ask anything at all. But he had so many questions!

Harry stared up at the teller, shifting the orb back and forth in his hands. "I have three questions. First, what is a CPM?"

"Compressed Power Monolith." Really that gave more questions that it answered. All of these people kept expecting him to know these things. Even Hagrid had been surprised when he didn't know about Hogwarts. Honestly, he grew up with muggles. Magic hating muggles to be exact. It wasn't as if they'd let him find out how to turn them into to toads. Could you turn someone into a toad? If you did would they keep their human mind or would they forget they were human and be like a real toad? Could you turn them back?

Compressed Power Monolith. What was a Monolith?

"I'm going to pretend I understood that," Said Harry, his guard snorted, "Moving on. There's a Potter vault?"

His guard answered this one. "Of course little mage. All of the Ancient and Noble Houses have a main family vault containing heirlooms, secrets, journals, tomes and other things. It is the source of the main wealth as well."

"I have wealth? Wait no that wasn't the third question! Um, if the pull is supposed to stop why didn't mine? It just kept pulling hard and harder until you made it stop. Shouldn't it have done it on it's own? Not that there's anything wrong with your method or anything I just wasn't trying to fly into the wall." There that wasn't offensive. Unless flying into walls was some sort of sport here. He might have to give that a pass. He'd never been athletic anyway. Unless you count running from Dudley or climbing tress to get away from dogs but that was for survival purposes. When you had the choice between running fast or getting hit in the face you ran.

"As I said before Mister Potter it attunes to the closest source of power equal to or above your own. You magic happens to be strong enough to pull back. While that in its self is rare though not entirely uncommon the source of the pull is."

"What that it? I'm not a mind reader you know." Said Harry.

Everyone exchanged glances but no one said anything. Harry looked at his guard imploringly. "So, what, my magic tugged on the CPM things?" He was going to let the mind reading thing go for now but what fun he could have. Imagine you come to that point in the story where the luck-gambler gives you a riddle in exchange for his help in invading the tower and all you have to do is read his mind and give him the answer. That gets rids of the entire quest arc you get when the protagonist isn't able to solve the riddle. That's an entire book gone. Of course some interesting stuff came about because of it but avoiding the whole wrath of the gods encompassing the last half of the third book would save most of the cast...

"No young master. Your magic tugs on our wards." Said the guard. He looked obscenely pleased at this news.

"What are-"

Harry looked up at Hagrid, who made an odd half-shriek gurgle. When he did and said nothing else, not even blinking, Harry looked over at his guard, the only sane person in the bunch as far as he was concerned. "What are wards?" He ignored it when the giant leaned against the teller's counter for support. Maybe all of the excitement was too much for him? He should suggest the man find a bench somewhere and take it easy.

"Magical barriers encasing the premises, keeping everything within safe from magical attacks. For instance, young master, if one attempted to summon something within the vaults or to apparate within they would not be able to do. We can even prevent entry or exit. They've been up for centuries and built upon with each generation. Our bank boasts some of the strongest Goblin wards in all of the world."

Wards. He wanted to learn wards. Were they just for buildings? You could place a ward around his book-bag to keep Dudley from getting into his things? Were they movable? Could he place one on himself? Was it a spell? Did you read it out of a book or chant it or wave a wand? There was a wand on his supplies list but there were also books in all sorts of subjects and even a cauldron listed for potions. Was there a ward potion?

"How do these magical barriers work? Who built them? How do you add to them? Could they keep out a dragon? Are they visible? How did I tug on the wards if I was supposed to hit on one of those CPMs? Did I use the wards as a CPM?"

"It's a branch of magick called Warding young mage. Gringotts employs the best Warders in the world, human, goblin and magical creature alike. It isn't a subject you'll learn much of in school if you attend Hogwarts-"

The teller pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't get paid for this. Take young master to a conference room. I think some things need to be explained without all of the wizarding world listening in." Harry turned around. Once more everyone seemed to be paying attention to him rather than their own business. Should they know all of these things already? And if they didn't they should find their own guard and figure it out for themselves. They could their own mysterious orbs as well while they were at it, this was Harry's adventure and they weren't invited.

"Well come along." Said the guard, nodding toward a smaller hallway to the right.

When Hagrid tried to follow him he was held up by three other guards. Harry turned to his guard. "Guard." he began, "Can you tell me why that giant is being harassed?" Harry figured the best way to go about this was to emulate the boy from the book the best he could. It seemed to be the only way anyone made any sense around here. This suited Harry just fine.

"The goblins are more than capable of keeping you safe young master. The giant delivered you to us and we shall take it from here. Even he should know the codes by now if not the bylaws." Harry pretended once more that he understood.

He nodded wisely. "Ah." Deciding that gibberish was boring he skipped up to walk beside the guard. The goblin guard he now knew. Various weapons decorated the walls as they continued. Or least he assumed decoration. They could be conveniently placed for those thieves he'd read about it earlier. "Alright fearsome guard of mine, to whence do we quest?" Harry asked brightly.

The goblin gave a smile. "I am taking you to a private room where we can discuss all manner of secret things."

He bounced up and down for a bit. It was all so exciting. His very own adventure with giants and magic and everything. If this was a dream and he woke up back in his cupboard he didn't know if he could go on. How do you live a normal life after seeing all of this? For the first time in his life he felt sort of like he belonged. He wasn't the same as everyone else and that was okay because no one else was the same as everyone else anyway. He was only just with a giant and now he was with a goblin. Who knew what else he might discover today? Who knew what else this world held for him. No, he was never going back to plain old Harry the Freak. He'd rather be a freak among freaks than a freak amongst the Dursleys.

"That sounds fantastic. I was just thinking I needed to learn something knew. It was a good three minutes since the last new thing I learned and I don't know what I'd do with myself if the space between lasted longer than that." Said Harry. "And you know what they say, idle minds are the Devil's playground.

A sharp grin. "There are many secrets within these walls young master. If you play your cards right you just might learn some more of them." The guard slowed and glanced around. "You remember the rhyme little magician?"

Harry beamed. Of course he did. It was only the coolest warning in the history of any proper fantasy adventure ever! It was just begging for someone to wandering and discovering. "Enter, stranger, but take heed, of what awaits the sin of greed. For those who take but do not earn must pay most dearly in their turn, so if you seek beneath our floors a treasure that was never yours, thief, you have been warned, beware, of finding more than treasure there." He shivered. It was an awesome rhyme.

"Just so." Said the goblin. "There is far more within these halls than mere treasure. The other wizards will have you believe we goblins care for nothing but gold. This is not true and don't you dare to believe it. Secrets weigh far more than gold. Wealth and strength are all well and good but never undervalue the use of a good secret. Knowledge is power young master. And speaking of power," beady eyes bored into his own, sharp smile widening into a ferocious Cheshire crescent.

"Can you keep a secret?"