Lucius enters Gringotts quietly, still shaken by Pandora's vision. He approaches a tell and waits to be acknowledged.
"Wizard." The goblin says.
"Teller, I would speak with the Malfoy account manager." His voice is mostly steady, but there's enough of a tremble in it for the goblin to raise it's head quickly.
"You understand that no concealing charms will work beyond our foyers."
"I understand. I have nothing to hide and much to tell." The blonde man assured.
The goblin studied him.
"Rockjaw!" He snapped to the side.
A younger goblin jumped to it's feet and hurried over.
"Sir!" It stood at attention.
"Escort the wizard to an office. Call Clawblade and inform him that this wizard needs to speak to the Malfoy manager."
"Yessir!" The young goblin said.
"There will be another two wizards joining me soon, Severus Snape and Alexander Gibbon. They know to approach only you, would you have them brought to wherever I am?" Lucius asked the teller.
"Snape?"
"Severus Snape and Alexander Gibbon." Lucius confirmed.
"Very well, wizard." The teller nodded and waved him away.
A small office, neat and tidy, but simple. Little money had been wasted here, everything in the office had a use. Lucius sat and waited, he attempted to make some sense of his thoughts, but by the time a neatly suited goblin appeared, he was no closer to resolving anything.
"Before anything can be discussed, you are required to submit to a identity test, wizard." The goblin warned.
"Good."
Lucius watched as the goblin laid out a dagger, piece of parchment and a small bowl.
"Ten drops of blood into the bowl." The goblin directed.
Lucius picked up the dagger.
"Would you prefer finger, palm or arm, Stonegut?" Giving the goblin the choice, Lucius tried to show that it made little difference to him.
"Arm." The goblin replied.
Lucius held the tip of the dagger to his arm and pressed it down, dragging it towards his wrist. Blood welled and he watched as the drops fell into the bowl. He lifted the dagger free and with his uninjured arm reached into his robes and withdrew a sealed bottle of dittany. He opened the bottle and allowed a few drops to fall on the wound, a handkerchief wiping away the residue.
The goblin ignored Lucius while it waited for the identity test to continue.
"Very good, Mr Malfoy. What can Gringotts assist you in today?" The goblin said after the completed test.
Lucius very carefully reached into his robes and retrieved the phial of memories that Pandora had left him, placing it carefully on the desk.
"I need you and the Director to watch these memories." He said.
"Me… and the Director?" Stonegut raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Those memories were given to me be a Seer… of sorts. She-"
"A prophecy?" The goblin was startled.
"No. A vision. It concerns the very end of Magic itself."
"The end of Magic?" Stonegut gasped.
"Yes. The Seer watched it more than a dozen times, she said, trying to decide if she could avoid bringing it to me."
"Obviously, she has."
"Yes, she did. She also said that watching it for the fourteenth time was no easier than for the first time."
The goblin's eyes widened.
"Is it that bad?" He asked.
"Yes." Lucius sighed, he bared his left arm, the Darkmark black an putrid on his arm. "You know what this means?" The goblin at his question. "That…" he nodded at the phial, "changed everything. I swear by my magic and my life that I will do what I can do to see that Lady Magic is not lost."
"He is dead." Stonegut reminded him.
"Not according to those." Lucius again nodded at the phial.
"You would leave his service?"
"If the alternative is the end of Magic…? Yes… In a heartbeat!" The wizard stated forcefully.
The goblin looked at the wizard, studying the man closely, thinking about what he knew of the man's reputation, his business dealings and his personal life. Finally the goblin nodded.
"How long does it take to watch, from start to finish?"
"Ten minutes less than three hours." The goblin's eyes widened, again. That was not a simple vision. "Wait here." The goblin rose to his feet and left the room.
Ten minutes later, he returned with another goblin. Slightly taller, with a vicious looking scar running from above his left eyebrow, down across the eye, across the nose, through the cheek and splitting it's ear in two.
"Director, this is Mr Lucius Malfoy. Mr Malfoy, this is Knifesplitter, the Director of Gringotts of London." Stonegut bowed formally to the director.
"Mr Malfoy." Knifesplitter dipped his head.
Lucius rose to his feet and bowed, just as formally as Stonegut had done.
"Director Knifesplitter."
"Mr Malfoy, Stonegut has told me that you have a Seer's visions as pensieve memories? And that you would have me view them?"
"That is correct, director."
A tapping at the office's door halted the discussion.
"My apologies, sir." Young Rockjaw bowed. "There are two wizards, here, that say that Mr Malfoy has requested their presence."
"That would Severus Snape and Alexander Gibbon." Lucius said. "Severus has already seen the visions, but Alexander has not yet. It is likely that, until he has, he will not quite understand what we hope to achieve and why." Lucius explained.
"Very well… Rockjaw bring them in." Knifesplitter ordered.
A few moments later, Severus entered the office in front of a man perhaps 15 years older than he. The man's toffee coloured skin spoke of a Mediterranean or African heritage. He spotted Knifesplitter and his eyes widened for a second, before he regained control.
"Director Knifesplitter, may I present Mr Severus Snape, a gifted young potioneer, well on his way to a Mastery. And Mr Alexander Gibbon, Herbology and Potions Master."
"Gentlemen."
Both men bowed to Knifesplitter, Severus more deeply than Gibbon.
"I would request that we view these memories at the same time that you do. I… do not know what I can tell you to make you enter the pensieve… other than… If we don't act, Magic will die." Lucius was almost ready to beg.
"I understand, Mr Malfoy. I will have Rockjaw and Orebiter, guard us. Shall we?"
"Lucius? Must I?" Severus asked.
"I think… both you and I will be needed to restrain our fellow watchers, Severus." Lucius advised.
"Hmm… I had not thought of that." Severus nodded and stepped up to the pensieve. "May I?" His hand hovered over the phial without touching.
"Please, Mr Snape." Knifesplitter nodded.
Severus lifted the stopper free of the phial and holding the phial by it's base, allowed it to tilt and spill it's precious liquid onto the pensieve's surface. The three wizards and two goblins stepped up and dipped their faces into that liquid.
Three hours later, there were two howlingly mad goblins, ready to wreak havoc.
"Director?" Lucius let his voice show his distress.
It was enough to bring both goblins to a standstill.
"Mr Malfoy?"
"Do you understand, now, why I brought this to Gringotts?"
"That last… section?"
"That last section. It is the only hope for magic."
"And for the boy." Knifesplitter added.
"And for the boy." Lucius repeated.
"Rockjaw? Orebiter?" Knifesplitter waited until both young goblins were facing him. "Wait outside, full privacy, no exceptions." Both goblins blinked, bowed and left. "Now there are just the five of us. Who else knows what these visions contain?"
"Outside those of us in this room… only the Seer herself. Her words to me were? 'These are yours, Lucius. I hope you make the right choices. For all our sakes.' And then she left." Lucius replied.
"Then we have a chance. I would have this under an Unbreakable Vow of Secrecy, gentlemen." Knifesplitter began.
"I… would have slightly different suggestion." Severus put forward.
"In what way, Mr Snape?"
"This will be in parts. Yes? The boy. And the Horcruxes?" the other four nodded, Gibbon had yet to say a word. "I would suggest that that we use two separate Vows, one for the child and a second for the Horcruxes. Let us see to the child first. We know that he is an inadvertent Horcruxe, that would have to be removed. We must retrieve the child and see to the processes that the vision contained. I then suggest that I be removed from the equation. I would be the primary caregiver for the child. If I understand what I saw, I will become the child's father. A child that will be de-aged, he will need my complete attention. Plus we know that at some point it is I that will have the joyous task of explaining the boy's existence to Dumbledore. He is a Master Occlumens and Legiliemens. I cannot know anything that you plan for the Horcruxes and it would be wise to remove what little knowledge I already possess."
Lucius stared at Severus, he hadn't given Dumbledore much consideration.
"He right, Luc. We can't let the old meddler know. Sev will have to loose what he knows." Alexander Gibbon spoke for the first time.
"But… I also suggest that we wait until the Horcruxe is removed from the boy." Severus added.
"Also, gentlemen. The Aurors are hunting for Death-Eaters and the three of you have a clear link on your arms." Knifesplitter entered the conversation. "Right now, Voldemort has no body, he is at his weakest. I would recommend having my Curse-breakers step in and cut that link, remove his taint from your skin."
The three men gaped at him.
"You… you can… you can do that?" Severus spluttered.
"Of course."
"He set them in parseltongue." Lucius reminded the goblin.
"Ah… in that case, I will have to get in a Curse-breaker in from Burma, Bangladesh or India. But as you say, Mr Snape, let us see to the child, first."
"Please."
"From what I noted in the vision, there were four genetic processes used. An Ancestral-Line Purge, a Ancestral-Line Adoption, a Ancestral Repudiation and a Blood Adoption." Knifesplitter stated, turning to Stonegut.
"Yes, that's what I noted too, sir. In that order. But the first thing is the retrieval of the child and the setting of the golem."
"Correct, Stonegut. But… what to tie the golem to?"
"I don't understand, Director. Wasn't the golem to be tied to his magic?" Severus asked.
"It was, but which magic to tie it to? His Maternal magic, his Paternal magic or his Inherent magic?"
"Maternal? Paternal? I think I understand those, but Inherent?" Severus asked.
"Uh… Maternal magic is the types of magics that we get from our mothers. Paternal from our fathers, of course. And Inherent are the magic traits that Lady Magic sees fit to give us, they are what shape our core and give it structure. The Maternal and Paternal magics are what fill all the little gaps and pockets within our core." The older wizard lectured.
"Ah… thank you, Xander." Severus sighed and nodded his thanks.
"Nah worries." The Scotsman replied.
"Let's worry about that after we have the child here, yes? The vision shows him being severely injured. We should focus on that first." Stonegut put forward. "Once we have him and the healers are working on him, we can decide a course of action."
"No. He will be my son. Blood Adopting him will instigate a parental attachment, within me, he will become my son, much as if he were my natural child. I have done nothing but think on this since I first emerged from the pensieve in Malfoy Manor." Severus cut in. "I want him safe. Safe from Death-Eaters, he is the child that vanquished the Dark Lord. But I also want him safe from Dumbledore, I know personally how manipulative the old man can be and how vicious Petunia can be."
"What are your thoughts on the matter, Severus?" Lucius asked.
"I think… I think we need to create a new history, a damaged history, for him. My thoughts are to make him a child of Death-Eaters, someone that even Dumbledore would approve of removing a child from."
"Bella. Bella and Rodolphus." Xander offered.
"Bella, yes, but not Rodolphus. Otherwise there would be no way the child would be abused." Lucius said, beginning slowly before gaining confidence. "Rodolphus doted on Bella. But if the child weren't his…?"
"Rodolphus wouldn't be happy, but that's still not cause for him to attack a child." Xander replied.
"But if it was Rabastan's child?" Lucius suggested.
"Rodolphus wouldn't hesitate to take it out on the child." Severus grimaced. "Their rivalry for Bella's affections would be enough for him snap. Not that either man really had a chance, Bella only had eyes for Voldemort, she married who she was told to marry."
"As both of them are now in Azkaban? With little hope of release? Not to mention that all three of them are more than a little unstable." Xander nodded. "That would work."
"It would indeed." Knifesplitter agreed.
"Severus and I can say that we went to their house to destroy any truly dark items, they might have had and found the child." Lucius said.
"…locked in a cupboard. Much as he is, right now." Severus added.
"Are we agreed then?" Stonegut asked. "First we retrieve the child. Heal him and remove the Horcruxe. A Maternal-Line Ancestral Purge, remove the maternal line of Evans. A Paternal Ancestral Purge, remove the paternal line of Potter. A Maternal Ancestral Adoption, add the maternal line of Black. A Paternal Ancestral Adoption, add the paternal line of Lestrange. A Blood Adoption, adding the lines of Snape and Prince."
"Wait…? The vision…? Didn't it have the child getting younger?" Xander asked.
Stonegut's eyes widened.
"It did, but that would…?" He turned to Knifesplitter. "Taking him back, regressing his age, back before he became a Horcruxe…? Wouldn't that…?"
"Reverse all the injuries and eject the Horcruxe? Yes, yes it would." Knifesplitter replied.
"That would make healing him considerably easier."
"And hiding him, too." Severus added. "If we were to take him back to the point that he is younger than Harry Potter is known to be, how will that register on identity tests?"
"If we, Gringotts that is, were to use a permanent age-setting potion, our Identity test will register the physical age. If Harry Potter were to be born on the 31st July and Gringotts provided the potions used to rearrange his age, then once we are happy with where his age is in relation to where it was? Another potion is used to set the changes. From that point on, aging or de-aging potions will only be temporary, they will wear off after 240 hours, ten days." Stonegut informed them.
"Hmm…" Lucius hummed. "How far, Severus? How much younger do you want him to be?"
"Remembering, that you will be his father, you will have to care for him. I'd suggest as close as possible, but still keeping a little distance." Xander put in.
"I know." Severus sighed. "I… I think… permanently? Only a couple of weeks. If he new birthday could be… somewhere around the 20th-25th of August, the same year? I think that would work."
"We would need to regress his age to… say 14 months?" Stonegut offered. "Then once the Horcruxe is gone and the injuries healed, we then increase his age to the preferred age."
"It's been six weeks since… he… acquired the Horcruxe." Knifesplitter clarified. "So we regress his age by… ten weeks? Once the Horcruxe is gone, we add seven weeks to his age instead of ten, making him three weeks younger than he currently is. Are we to do the re-aging before or after the purges and adoptions?"
Lucius and Severus exchanged speaking looks.
"Regress him. Purge both maternal and paternal lines. Re-age him. Add maternal and paternal lines. Blood adoption. Remove maternal and paternal lines. Boost blood adoption. Remove or block my memories of the Horcruxes. Check him for blocks, charms, compulsions and curses. He and I leave and it's then up to you, Lucius and you, Xander, to deal with Voldemort." Severus stated bluntly.
Lucius, Xander and Knifesplitter all hummed or frowned in thought.
"I might suggest making one change to that order. Regress him. Then remove memories from you. You will still know that it is vitally important to protect the child, but your thoughts will be more along the lines of Death-Eaters and abuse, not Horcruxes." Stonegut suggested.
More exchanged glances, some nods and they were in agreement.
"Regress him. Check him for blocks, charms, compulsions and curses, but do not remove any that Rodolphus would have placed. Remove or block my memories. Purge both maternal and paternal lines. Re-age him. Add maternal and paternal lines. Blood adoption. Remove maternal and paternal lines. Remove any blocks, charms, compulsions and curses still left. Boost blood adoption and remove my Darkmark. He and I leave and that will be the end of my involvement?" Severus asked.
"Yes, that had slipped my mind for the moment. I think that will work well." Knifesplitter nodded. "Stonegut? See to a golem blank. You will be to doing the retrieval, tie the golem to the child's Paternal Magic, that will give us, at the least, 48 hours before the golem uses all the latent magic from the initial magical transfer, at that point the body with 'die'. After this is complete, before you and the child leave, Mr Snape, I would like one of our healers to assess the child."
"I'm not certain…" Severus began.
"No, if we are to keep to the cover story, that would be a necessary thing to do." Lucius said.
Severus frowned, but nodded slowly.
"Yes…" He said slowly. "It would."
"Director? If I may? I would suggest my wife? She has the same clearances that I do." Stonegut said.
"Yes, we would need her for the Purging and Adoptions, anyway. Good see to it, Stonegut." Knifesplitter ordered. "I'll bring these gentlemen to the appropriate room and call for a curse-breaker to meet us there."
There was a small shuffle of activity as the three wizards rose and sorted themselves out, in order of importance and ranking. Lucius might be the highest, politically, ranked of the three, but the child's situation made Severus the highest as far as medical and social importance was concerned. A child's needs overruled politics every day of the week. As they followed the director, Xander threw out a comment that gave Severus, yet another thing to think about.
"Sev, would your grandfather consider taking you back into the family if you were to do a Snape Paternal-Line Ancestry Purge? The Hogwarts letters were addressed to 'Prince'."
"Later, Xander. Let me worry about that later."
"Take the child to your grandfather, tell him the truth and what we plan to tell Dumbledore. See what he says. You have nothing to loose and a lot to gain. The protection of the Prince name, would go a long way, Sev." Severus' mentor continued.
"It would. But right now? Let me concentrate on one thing at a time. Please?" Severus didn't mean to sound pleading, but that's how it came out, anyway.
"As long as you think about it." Xander agreed.
"I will, just not tonight."
"Not tonight."
Entering a goblin ritual chamber was not something many wizards got the chance to do, so all three wizards were looking around, filing things away in their memory for later. A large round room, with a central dais of about a foot high and roughly six foot across, row after row of shaped tiles spread out from the dais. Between each row of tiles was a strip of some type of clear material, maybe crystal, maybe glass, maybe diamond, the wizards didn't know and weren't about to insult the director by asking.
The three wizards were pointed to a bench seats that sat at different points around the room. All three men opted to sit near the door, they had no idea how this would differ from what they were shown in the vision.
"We are ready?" Knifesplitter asked the room in general.
"We are." The men all answered.
"Then we shall begin, as soon as Stonegut arrives with the child."
The four waited, patiently. A knock at the door and a female goblin came in.
"Stonegut said I would likely be needed and that this… situation, is of the highest clearance?" The statement was a question, or at least that is how it emerged.
"Yes. Only Stonegut and those of us in this room will ever know of this." Knifesplitter informed the female.
She looked over at the three wizards.
"And them?"
"They are the ones that brought this to my attention, they know as much as I do. And far more than you ever shall, Healer Ammolite." The director chided.
The she-goblin ducked her head in apology to the director as a second knock came.
"Director Knifesplitter? I am Clawfist. I was told you need a Curse-breaker that understood parseltongue, sir." A wizened but very tall, for a goblin, figure bowed and entered the room.
"Yes, Clawfist, I do. Please sit and wait. Things must be done in a very precise order, if we are to achieve a successful outcome."
"Sir." The goblin nodded and sat on the opposite side of the door to the three wizards.
Nearly a minute passed before there was a 'pop' of sound and the push of displaced air. Stonegut appeared, his fingers wrapped securely around the ankle of a small child. The child's eyes were open and tears seeped from his eyes. Fear was written all across his face.
Severus stepped forward.
"Hush, sweet child, hush. No here will harm you."
The child's head turned and he saw Severus, his eyes screwed up a little and his face cleared and joy lit it.
"Tev'rus!" He cried, his hands reaching towards the man, fingers opening and closing.
Severus gaped. How in the name of Merlin had the child known who he was?
"Tev'rus?" The child's face began to fall, his bottom lip trembling.
"Hush, now. I'm here, I'm here. Hush, little one." Severus crooned.
"Ouchy, Tev'rus, I's ouchy."
"I know. Let the goblins work and they'll take the pain away, sweet boy." Severus knelt near the tiny boy's head and let his finger be clasped by what should have been a pudgy hand.
Stonegut eased forward after shaking his head at his wife, he offered Severus a small phial of potion.
"The de-aging potion." Was all he said.
"Can we not give him a pain suppressant?" Severus asked.
"No, not if the de-aging potion is to be precise, other potions can destabilise the mix."
"Ah, thank you." Severus turned to the boy, Harry. "Harry, sweet boy? This will make the ouches go away, but it will hurt more, first. Just for a few moments."
"Ouchies?"
"More ouchies, then no more ouchies." Severus corrected, trying to speak so Harry would understand.
"Ouchies." Harry nodded, opening his mouth for the potion.
Severus gently tipped the glowing purply-blue potion into the waiting mouth.
"You need to swallow it all, Harry." Severus said.
The little throat worked again and again, until the potion was gone, then Harry opened his mouth to show it was empty.
"Good boy." Severus smile.
The boy's eyes widened and then closed, screwing shut tightly. The pain twisted through his little body, bruises bled into being and faded quickly. His arm slowly bent, then snapped straight. Cuts slowly appeared and the disappeared in an instant. Then a flash of green light and the cut on the boy's forehead opened. Sickly black smoke oozed and bubbled from the cut, it rose in a plume and faded within seconds. Now the little face softened and Harry turned to rest peacefully on his side as he floated in mid-air.
"The potion will keep him unconscious for approximately fifteen minutes." Stonegut said as he and Knifesplitter stepped forward.
"Now your memories, Severus. Are you sure?" Lucius asked.
"Yes. I'd be no help, anyway. I had never heard the term until I entered the pensieve. And keeping Dumbledore out of it? Yes, Lucius, it's worth it." Severus assured the blonde wizard.
"Very well. Turn and look into my eyes, Severus Snape." Knifesplitter stated.
Severus turned from Harry to face the goblin, forcing his eyes to meet the goblins.
"Memoriae." A pause. "Horcruxe." Another pause. "Recensere." Another pause. "Delens." Knifesplitter's voice echoed like he was in a great cavern. "Por salute. Quia nec quaerere."
Severus felt a wave of nausea flood him and his mind went unbalanced, when the dizziness passed, he knew that something had happened, but what he didn't know and for some reason, he knew that to go looking for it, was to endanger himself and the child that would be his.
"Now for the child." Knifesplitter said. "Clawfist? I want a list of the all blocks, charm, compulsions and curses on the boy."
"Certainly Director Knifesplitter." The foreign goblin came forward and began his own chants. "I shall need three drops of his blood, onto this crystal." The goblin gestured with a crystal in his hand. Severus pulled out his wand, and opened a small cut on a tiny foot and let the goblin touch the crystal to the cut, he then tapped the cut with his wand and sealed it.
"There's a core binding and a core-leech, but nothing else." The goblin assured them.
"Leave them for the moment. Once the Ancestral Purges are done, we'll get you to break both of them." Severus advised.
"As you wish."
"The Purging of his Maternal Ancestries and Magics." Knifesplitter stated.
The two goblin stood one on each side of the boy, they each took a few deep breaths and began to chant. Stonegut handed Severus a phial of grassy-green liquid, without pausing in his chants as he watched the boy instinctively swallow the liquid trickled into his mouth. A minute and the three wizards saw the boy's face change, blackness bled out of his hair and his skin lost that warm golden glow that came from James Potter. They paused for a few moments, sipping at water that Healer Ammolite pushed into their hands.
"The Purging of the Paternal Ancestries and Magics."
Another phial of the green liquid and Severus watched as the red hair that had graced Lily Evans, left her son along with all that she had given him.
"Clawfist? Remove the core-leech first. Then the binding." Knifesplitter suggested.
"Yes, Director." The goblin reached out and laid his hands on Harry's little feet and began his chanting. A flash of light and a ripple in the air told them the leach was gone. Clawfist kept chanting, another burst of golden light that seeped from Harry's very skin that faded slowly.
A few minutes pause.
"Now… time to set his age. Severus? This potion will increase his age by seven of the ten weeks, that we just removed from him, it includes the setting agent."
Stonegut offered a phial of liquid the colour of sunshine and watched as Severus dribbled it into little Harry's mouth and the small throat worked to swallow it. Slowly the changes began, the flatness of his face became a little plumper, the arms and legs lengthened slightly, but there was little difference, really.
"Time for the Ancestral-Line Adoptions. First the Maternal Line then the Paternal Line." Knifesplitter looked to Stonegut, who just nodded. The two began another round of chants, with the healer handed Severus a phial of deep, rich magenta. He trickled it into the small mouth, exactly as he had done earlier. Within seconds, the healer was handing him a second phial and gesturing at Harry, he shrugged and did it again.
There was a pause, for a few minutes, while those gathered watched the boy's features change. The deep black of the Black Family's hair was slightly muted by the mousey brown of the Lestrange hair, the wave obviously from Bellatrix, as Rabastan's hair was as straight as an arrow.
"Here, we need someone to represent the parents. To progress with a Blood Adoption, we need someone to provide permission, someone that would have a legal right to who the child is now."
"That would be me, then." Lucius said.
"How do you figure that, Mr Malfoy.
"We've just added a maternal lineage. Correct?"
"Correct, Bellatrix Lestrange's."
"Precisely. Bellatrix Lestrange is my wife's sister. And I am the only Head of House within three degrees of separation, that is not dead or incarcerated."
There was a predatory smile on the faces of two goblins.
"So you are, Mr Malfoy, so you are. Very well. Do go give permission for one Severus Snape to Blood Adopt this child?"
"I do, Director." Lucius stated clearly.
"Thank you, Lucius." Severus threw a quick smile at his friend.
A familiar phial of deep blue liquid has held out, minus it's stopper. Severus used his wand to slice a finger and let seven fat drops of blood fall into the phial. Lucius replaced the stopper and gave the phial a few good shakes. Just like it should have, the liquid in the phial gradually turned a pale metallic pink. Lucius handed the phial to Severus who, yet again, trickled it into Harry's mouth.
It took minutes, but eventually more changes happened. His hair went darker, more a deep chocolate with black highlights and his skin blushed with the palest of pale golds.
"Now, Mr Malfoy? As the closest Head of a House to the boy's Paternal line, we require that someone order the Ancestral Repudiations, both Paternal and Maternal Repudiations."
"Do it, both of them." Lucius ordered.
More chanting and a phial of pale green was poured into the boy's mouth and watched the wavy hair become stronger and go black, as the Lestrange magics left him. Then Ammolite handed a second phial that caused the wave faded, his hair straightening and falling away from his face, as the Black Family magics faded.
"Lastly, we have a booster for the Blood Adoption." Ammolite said, holding out a second phial of the dark blue potion he'd added his own blood to earlier. Like he had then, he used his wand to slice a finger and allowed blood, three drops this time, to fall into it, before it was shaken and tipped into the waiting mouth.
"Now we wait for him to wake. Clawfist? Would you check him again?" Knifesplitter asked, he gestured for Stonegut to lower the boy to the dais' surface.
The goblin stood and laid a hand on Harry's forehead, as he rested with his back pressed against Severus' leg.
"Nothing." He said.
"Good. While we wait, would you be so kind as to remove the curse-mark on Mr Snape's, Mr Malfoy's and Mr Gibbon's left arms, please? Ammolite, check the child. We will need a formal assessment." Knifesplitter added.
"Sir? I suggest a set of identity tests, first. That way the assessment will match up with an already identified being. We can attach the assessment to our records, just in case they are needed in the future." Stonegut advised.
"Yes… that would be more advisable. Please see to it and have someone escort Mr Malfoy and Mr Gibbon back to my office." Knifesplitter nodded to the three wizards and left the chamber, Stonegut on his heels.
"Mr Snape, Mr Malfoy, Mr Gibbon? Who is to be first?" Clawfist asked.
"Severus, please. That way, once the identity tests, medical assessment on the boy are done, he'll be free to leave." Lucius decided.
"As you please." Clawfist crossed to stand in front of Severus. "Show me what I am to remove."
Severus hesitated for a heartbeat, but if the goblin could remove it? He would take the chance. He gave a sharp tug and his left sleeve slid upwards, exposing a pale arm with it's slightly faded mark.
"Ah… this is not so bad. I had thought it worse. You'll need to take the jacket off, though. I need complete access to the arm, not restricted by clothing." Clawfist said.
Severus said nothing, just undid the row of small buttons holding his frock coat closed and slipped it from his shoulders, leaving him in a high-collared white dress-shirt.
"Right, then, I can't be certain this is going to be painless, but if it does hurt, it shouldn't be too bad." The goblin took hold of Severus' arm and drew in a deep breath. He paused and spoke again. "Once I start… don't interrupt while I'm speaking parseltongue. It can cause fluctuations in your system. It's fine for the others to speak, but not you, you can nod, shake your head, react, whatever. But don't speak. Understand?"
Severus nodded, prepared to stay silent for as long as the goblin needed him to.
A few moments later the goblin took hold of his arm and began to speak in that hissing sound that was parseltongue. As he did, licks of fire touched Severus' arm, not bad, but not pain-free either. Certainly not so bad that he couldn't ignore it. He used his right arm and pulled his jacket close again, reaching into a pocket and retrieving a shrunken paper wrapped bundle. He dropped the bundle on the floor beside his hip and gestured for Lucius to un-shrink it. Once that was done, the parcel was still quite small and Severus found it difficult to manipulate.
"Would you like me to open it, Severus?" Lucius smirked.
Severus gave him a flat stare and nodded. Lucius opened the parcel and Severus pointed out a selection of items. One by one they were placed on Severus' lap. Baby clothes.
Who would ever have thought that Severus Snape would have baby clothes in his lap?
A yawning, snuffling sound came from Severus' right, Harry was waking. His eyes opened and he looked around the room with curiosity. Finally he saw Severus, a squeal and he was rolling around and clambering up Severus' body.
"Papa!" He cried.
When Severus smiled, but said nothing, the little boy's face froze.
"Papa?"
"Easy little, your Papa can't speak until the goblin is finished fixing his arm." Xander explained.
"Papa?"
Severus smiled and nodded, the pain in his arm growing, still not unbearable, but he was glad that Clawfist had warned him not to speak, at this point, he would have found it difficult to keep the pain from sounding in his voice.
"Papa…" The boy lay his head on Severus' shoulder and began to hum, funnily enough, that humming made it easier to tolerate the pain the goblin was creating.
When Stonegut returned with the parchments and inks for the identity test, it was Xander who told Harry what was needed.
"Papa?" Harry's little voice was scared.
Severus tried to comfort and encourage the little boy. He smiled and nodded, holding out his hand, a little hand trembled as it lay engulfed in his. He nodded to Lucius, who held out his wand, making the tip sharp.
"Little master needs to put three drops of blood in each of these bottles." Stonegut said.
"Papa?" Harry's lip and chin quivered.
Clawfist stood, letting go of Severus' arm.
"Done." He said. "I'll need a few minutes before I do the next one."
"Thank you, Master Curse-breaker." Severus bowed his head to the goblin.
"Papa!" Harry's smile was brilliant.
"Hello, my little one."
"Papa?" He pointed at Lucius and then to the ink. "Me?"
"Yes, my brave little one. We must make a little cut on you finger, then put three drops into each bottle. Will you do that for me?" Severus held his wand in right hand and slid his, now bare, left arm around the little boy.
"Es Papa." The boy nodded.
Severus' smile grew and he carefully held out his wand and pressed Harry's, still not quite chubby, finger against it. Blood welled and Harry looked at it in fascination as it dropped into the small bottles of ink.
Stonegut replaced the stoppers and shook each bottle, before pouring it onto a piece of parchment. The ink ran across each page, leaving words in it's paths.
The first, the standard Identity Test, read –
Hadrian Ridley Snape. (21st August 1980) (Blood Adoption – 11 December 1981)
Mother – Repudiated - Bellatrix Rose Black (3rd June 1951 – )
Father – Repudiated - Rabastan Webster Lestrange (28th March 1964 – )
Father – Adopted - Severus Colbert Snape (9th January 1960 – )
The second, the Inheritance test, showed little more.
Hadrian Ridley Snape. (21st August 1980) (Blood Adoption – 11 December 1981)
Mother – Repudiated - Bellatrix Rose Black (3rd June 1951 – )
Father – Repudiated - Rabastan Webster Lestrange (28th March 1964 – )
Father – Adopted - Severus Colbert Snape (9th January 1960 – )
Titles – nil.
Vaults – 1023, 1149 and 1396.
Charms – nil
Bindings – nil
Compulsions – nil
Curses – nil
"Well that's certainly keeping it simple. Isn't it?" Lucius had assumed there would be a lot more.
"Indeed. I had expected…" Severus began, but trailed off.
"Initially, so had I." Stonegut said. "But it makes sense in a way. Many people left things to Harry Potter, not to Hadrian Snape.'
"So what happens if someone changes their name to Harry Potter?" Xander asked.
"Nothing. They're not Harry Potter, the son of James and Lily Potter."
"No, I suppose they're not. So, what happens to what's been left to Harry Potter?" Lucius asked.
"Well, once we have proof of Harry Potter's death, his parent's Wills are automatically processed with the clauses of what is to happen in the event of his death."
"Which are?" Lucius wanted to know.
"I have no idea. Until the Will's additional clauses become active, there's no way of telling." Stonegut shrugged.
"Well, I don't think it really matters tonight. Severus? Why don't you get Healer Ammolite to check young Hadrian over and then take him home? I'm sure he's hungry."
"Papa? 'Ung'y, me's 'ung'y." The newly named Hadrian patted Severus' cheek to get his attention.
"Just a few more minutes, my little Hadrian." Severus rubbed a little back easing Hadrian back against him. "Healer?" He turned to Ammolite, raised an eyebrow and looked down at Hadrian.
"Certainly, Mr Snape." The healer ran her crystal rod over the little boy's body and tapped it to a piece of slate. "Nothing, but hunger, Mr Snape. Magic has done some major to his body. He had some… significant damage when he arrived, but is now in excellent shape. The damage to his eyes, that caused him to had to squint to identify you earlier has been corrected. As has the malnutrition it was obvious he was suffering from. All in all, he's in fine shape. Just hungry, like he said. You can expect that to be the case for the next week or two, it will taper off over the course of a few days."
"That's it?" Severus was expecting a list of ailments.
"That's it. Lady Magic likes your son and repaired whatever she could. I suggest taking him home and feeding him, before he runs out of energy."
"Thank you Healer Ammolite. I shall do just that." Severus rose to he feet and gave a shallow bow the healer.
"Lucius, Xander? Drop in and see me in a few days, I should have a handle on Hadrian by then."
"I shall." Lucius nodded.
"Same here, but I expect you to be able to tell me what your grandfather had to say." Xander warned.
"Yes, Xander. I'll send him an owl after Hadrian's asleep." Severus sighed.
Memoriae = memory
Recensere = edit
Delens = delete
Por salute. Quia nec quaerere = For safety. Do not ask.