Blood of Venom and Tears
01
isdh
Harry stood in the girl's lavatory, Myrtle's Lavatory. He had snuck out of the hospital wing while Poppy was dealing with Molly Weasley. Dressing quickly, and grabbing Lockhart's wand from where they had left it, he had run...here.
"Ello Arry." her kitten toned voice washed over him.
"Hello Myrtle." he spoke calmly. "How are you today?" He looked straight at the sink hiding the entrance to the chamber below.
"I was worried. You went down that 'ole, but never came back up. What 'appened?" she chirped.
"Killed the Shade of the one who killed you." Harry spoke in a hushed tones. "I also killed the Beast. She was a slave to the Heir. Tom Riddle was bending her to his will."
"Tom? Riddle?" the ghost girl pouted, "Ee was such a nice guy."
"Only to cover the ugliness he had buried within." Harry smiled at the girl hovering beside him. "He did say that because of your death, he was forced to hide, and frame Hagrid."
"Wot are you doing now?" the girl floated closer.
"Fulfilling the last request of a great defender of this place." Harry stepped up to the sink. "Open."
the sink dropped into the floor, as the rest pulled away. With the change in the light, harry noticed twisted iron steps recessed into the walls of the chute. "Steps." as they slid out, he turned to look at the ghost. "Coming?" Myrtle nodded and drift closer. As his head fell below the floor of the loo, he hissed again. "Close." and the room returned to its previous condition.
The door opened and Ron led the twins into the Loo. "This is where the entrance was." he pointed at the sink.
The twins looked at the map, then around the room.
"If Harry was here..."
"...he is gone now. How did..."
"...he open the chamber? Was there..."
"...A password? A spell?"
and then as one, "or was it a twist of the knob?" and as one they turned the closest fob.
"Harry just hissed at it, it slide open, and we jumped." Ron shrugged. "Of course we had 'Moaning Myrtle' whaling in our ears the whole time."
"Let's get back, mum will be worrying about us." Fred draped an arm his younger brother's shoulders as George cast a charm in the room, tapped the map, and whispered something. The three of them slumped out the door and down to the great hall.
Lunch was due to be served in a few minutes anyway.
"Lumos"
the landing chamber lit up. They could still see the shed skin of the Basilisk and the many bony remains of the rats. The ghost latched on to the boy-wizard, though how a non-corporeal being be both cold and misty and at the same time, warm and … well her budding breasts were pressed into his arm.
Not that Harry was noticing...not that he minded either...
He led the way past the crumbled roof, and into the under caverns, the lights lighting ahead of them, dosing behind them.
Again he came to the great portal. He hissed at it again, and it opened. Into the hall that was carved to reflect the greatness of Master Slytherin, he strolled. He stopped, and collecting the wands on the floor, his and Ginny's, dousing the blond professor's wand and slid all three into his robes.
He then pointed out the dead beast in the corner. "She was placed here by Slytherin himself. Was a defender of this place until Tom found her."
"Ow do you know so much?" Myrtle asked as she looked about.
"She told me as we were fighting." Harry was picking his way across the water to the open mouth of the head of Slytherin. "Centuries defending the students and teachers of this great school, only to be turned on the very ones she was set to protect. That is why you were the only death, she was trying to catch him with her eyes unlidded, when you stepped out of the loo." hoping into the open mouth, he made his way down into nest. In a chamber about the size of Snape's class room, Harry found the nest. In the center of the room was a green ovoid, eight inches tall, six across. Being the only thing in the room, Harry picked it up, and dropped into a deep pocket of his robes.
As he stepped from the mouth of the stone face, the ghost girl turned from her looking over the carcase of the snake. "Are you going to do something with the body?"
"Any ideas?" he was hopping his way back to her side.
"Well, you did kill it, while you were protecting the school..." she floated back to his side. "you should at least get a medal for it."
"I will think on it." he stopped and looked down. At his feet was the diary. And the snakes fang. Collecting both, he strode from the room.
Ginny mumbled in her sleep. She shivered as the heat was leached from her very bones. She woke just as Harry returned to the Wing. Through blurry and lidded eyes she saw her hero. He had been rescuing her weekly for the last six years. She smiled at him. "Hey you." thinking that she was still dreaming, she waved from her bed. "Would it be too much to ask for a kiss?"
"Miss Weasley." Madam Pomfrey Hissed.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" Molly yelled.
Ginny spun to see two of the three women she most did not want to see.
"Ladies." Harry spoke up. "Ron has been telling me stories about his little sis for two years now. After this last week, I do believe that a young lady is allowed to ask her knight for a kiss." Taking the poor girls hand he kissed the back of it. "This is all I am allowed at this time."
As his lips touched her hand a warm burning kindled in her chest. "My good sir, I could ask for nothing more."
His eyes widened for a moment. The he smiled. "Rest now. Madam Pomfrey will look you over, and if we are found well enough, I will walk you down to the great hall. Failing that, we will dine here." He dropped on the bed next to hers, fold his hands, and waited for the medi-witch to do her job.
With a twitch of her wand, privacy curtains enveloped the three witches.
A few minutes and the trio were returned to Harry's company. A quick wave of her wand, and Pomfrey frowned at the boy. "You have been out of bed."
Pulling Ginny's wand out, "I had to retrieve her wand." handing it to the girl, "It was my vault it was left there in the first place." settling back, "So are we dining here or in the great hall?"
Griphook looked at the white owl perched before him. She offered him her foot, and the scroll tied there. Taking it gently, he frowned at what he found there in.
Greetings Griphook.
I hope that this is not an imposition, but you are the only goblin I know by name. Your service to me has been nothing but the of the highest professional grade.
The reason I write to you; I need an agent to handle the selling and removal of the Sixty meter Basilisk carcase. A ten percent service fee, I am told is the standard for an agent in these matters. I have included a fang that was imbedded in my arm as proof of the beasts power. If not for the Phoenix tears now running through my veins, I would be dead, so do be careful.
Not knowing of the true value of what I am offering, but trusting to the honesty and respect of those who protect our way of life, I can only profit from this little venture.
Not knowing the legal issues involved, I also request that you find out. As I was the one to kill it, protecting the school and a fellow student, I am told that I should have some say in the outcome. I do believe that the Potions Master and the Headmaster here at Hogwarts are going to try to claim the body, or the profits from the sell of said body.
Time is of an issue. I will only be here another week, then 'home' for the summer.
Yours in profit, Harry Potter.
The whole thing had been wrapped around a six inch curved tooth.
Clutching the two items to his chest, Griphook dropped all professionalism, and ran for the Managers office. Plowing through the door, he jumped to the desk top, and ran to stand before the goblin who over looked everything for England. Instead of wilting under the combined glares of every elder in England, he set the letter and fang before what was once the king of goblins, and backed off.
When the smell of blood mixed with... the goblin looked again at the fang, then picked up the letter and read it. He read it again.
Then he grinned. Goblins do not have a nice grin. "Are you claiming the fee?"
"It depends, sir. Am I selling it for Master Potter? Buying it for the Bank? Or what?" the goblin bobbed his head. "Then there is the possibilities that it is not the boy's to sell, but by right of killing it to protect the school and students..."
"And with only a week, before being forced to leave for the summer, who knows what is planed for the body of this great find."
"Sir," a voice at mid-table squeaked, "What find?"
"A sixty meter Basilisk." the head gob smirked.
"And the boy's rudeness?" this from an old warrior, who only came to these meetings for the food and drink.
"A ten percent fee." Griphook answered. "From the slayer, alone, I would be entitled to request to form my own Klan."
The old warrior grunted. "Good enough. Gold or blood, is one thing, but both..."
"Griphook, you will take the fourth column, extract the carcase as intact as you can." the goblin-king was scribbling a note. "Master Potter is to report here as soon as he is dismissed from the school. I want all information on the boy. As for the Legal issues, tell Dumbledore that I am willing to enact all wills that he asked me to hold, should we be denied what our client is offering us."
"Press." Another voice spoke up. "If we are going to be reselling this at standard prices, say twice for that of dragon, a good press release would spread the news faster, and cheaper then anything we could do."
"But to report it now, could harm the school."
Griphook cleared his throat. "We take the pictures, we release the news story when we are ready to sell, unless the School does so first. We say that the School is a safe place, which is why we are handling the removal of the body. If the Wizards have a different story, then they can answer why it was a second year that killed the great beast." he stood straight, and put his thumbs in his waist coat. "We are just looking out for the best interests of number one Client."
"Number one Client?" a voice from behind him called out.
"Master Potter, the boy who lived." Griphook answered, "Because of him, we have had these last ten years free of the Dark Lord. If he was advised to claim all that is his due, we would be busy for the next three months just settling debts." he the grinned to match the Manager, "All those Pure-bloods, who think they are so superior, allowing us to hold their gold..."
the goblins began to cackle.
As the two young Gryffindor students entered the great hall, the assembled started to clap. Hand in hand they ducked their heads and hurried to the nearest double seat. As they sat, those around them asked them many questions.
But the Headmaster frowned, as he peered over his eyeglasses at the two.
A Knight was a dangerous piece when not under your control. And now he was tied to the girl, a damsel to use the shining knight. The only safe place was next to the Charger.
Then there was the girl herself. Her family was heavily in the Light. Most obeyed his requests without question. Good steady rock solid. She was moving from pawn to Rook.
Her brother could be seen as a Bishop. Thinking three steps ahead, but too lazy to move outside his comfort zone...or from the table.